- Herpetotheres cachinnans
Identification
- Buff head
- Black mask
- White bordered collar
- Black shaft-streaks on crown
- Dark brown wings and tail
- White or buff upper tail coverts
- Tail is narrowly barred black and white, with white tips
- In flight, one will notice the light area across the base of the primaries
- Dark brown eyes
- Black bill
- Cere and feet are straw-coloured
Distribution
Central and South America: breeds in Mexico from Sinaloa (rarely Sonora) and Tamaulipas southwards and through Central America to Panama.
In South America from Colombia, Venezuela and the Guianas south to eastern Peru, north and east Bolivia, Paraguay and north-east Argentina.
A resident species.
Taxonomy
This is a rather non-typical member of the Falconidae, the family which includes falcons and caracaras.
Subspecies[1]
There are 3 subspecies:
- H. c. chapmani:
- H. c. cachinnans:
- H. c. queribundus:
An additional subspecies fulvescens is generally considered invalid[2].
Habitat
Open forest and forest edge, llanos and cultivated land. Occurs in thorny scrub in more arid areas.
Behaviour
Diet
Diet includes snakes.
Breeding
No nest is made. Eggs may be laid in old nests of other birds or it nests in cavities in trees. The single egg is white or pale buff, marked with chocolate brown.
References
- Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Avibase
- carnivoraforum
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Laughing Falcon. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 14 May 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Laughing_Falcon
