Alternative name: Yellow-throated Caracara
- Daptrius ater
Identification
41–47 cm (16-18½ in)
Adult
- Glossy black overall plumage
- White rump and tail base
- Red-orange facial skin with yellow throat.
Juvenile is similar but has yellow facial skin.
Similar Species
Red-throated Caracara has a white abdomen.
Distribution
South America: breeds from southern and eastern Colombia, eastern Venezuela and the Guianas, through Amazonian Brazil to east Ecuador, eastern Peru and northern Bolivia. Resident.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Forest and forest edge up to 300m, open grassland with scattered trees, secondary-growth woodland, along rivers and in mangrove swamps.
Behaviour
Diet
These birds will eat almost anything from carrion to insects, frogs and fruit. They are reported to sometimes pick ticks off mammals such as tapir and deer.
Breeding
Smallish stick nest is usually placed in the crowns of trees or the top of palms. Clutch consists of 2 - 3 white eggs suffused with reddish-brown pigments.
Vocalisation
Call: a piercing scream.
Movements
Presumed sedentary.
References
Manu Lodge, Río Madre de Dios, Madre de Dios Department, Peru, 13 September 2018
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- BirdForum Member observations
- Bierregaard, R.O., Jr, Kirwan, G.M. & Boesman, P. (2019). Black Caracara (Daptrius ater). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/53187 on 9 July 2019).
- AvianWeb
- Black Caracara (Daptrius ater), In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. retrieved from Neotropical Birds Online: https://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/Species-Account/nb/species/blacar1
- Global Raptor Information Network. 2019. Species account: Black Caracara Daptrius ater. Downloaded from http://www.globalraptors.org on 9 Jul. 2019
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Black Caracara. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black_Caracara
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
