- Milvago chimachima
Identification
41-46 cm (16-18 in)
- Buff head
- Black streak behind the eye
- Buff underparts
- Brown upperparts
- Pale patches on the flight feathers
- Tail barred cream and brown
Sexes similar but the female is slightly larger than the male.
Immature birds are heavily mottled with brown and buff.
Variations
The northern subspecies M. c. cordata averages darker buff head and underparts, narrower dark tail bands, and less white in its wing compared to the paler nominate race in the southern part of its range.
Distribution
Central and South America: breeds in south-west Costa Rica and Panama and in South America from Colombia, Venezuela and the Guianas south to Paraguay and southern Brazil and west to Ecuador, eastern Peru and eastern Bolivia. Common in much of range.
Taxonomy
Forms a superspecies with Chimango Caracara.
Subspecies
Two subspecies are recognized:[1]
- M.c. cordata:
- southwest Costa Rica to Brazil north of the Amazon; Trinidad
- M.c. chimachima:
Habitat
Wooded savanna, open woodland and forest edge.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes reptiles, amphibians, small animals and carrion; it takes ticks from cattle.
Breeding
Nests in a stick platform in the top of a tree. Occasionally uses the old nest of other species. Clutch is 2 white eggs suffused with buffy or reddish-brown color.
Vocalisation
Most common call is a loud descending whistle.
Movements
A resident species.
References
- 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/
- Bierregaard, R.O., Jr, Kirwan, G.M. & Boesman, P. (2018). Yellow-headed Caracara (Milvago chimachima). 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/53194 on 10 January 2018).
- Blake, E.R. (1977) Manual of Neotropical Birds, Vol. 1. Univ. Chicago Press.
- Yellow-headed Caracara (Milvago chimachima), In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA. retrieved from Neotropical Birds Online: https://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/Species-Account/nb/species/yehcar1
- Global Raptor Information Network. 2019. Species account: Yellow-headed Caracara Milvago chimachima. Downloaded from http://www.globalraptors.org/grin/SpeciesResults.asp?specID=8067 on 13 Aug. 2019
- Schulenberg, T. S. & Stotz, D. F. & Lane, D. F. & O'Neill, J. P. & Parker III, T. A. & Egg, A. B. (2010). Birds of Peru: Revised and Updated Edition. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691130231
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Yellow-headed Caracara. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 22 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Yellow-headed_Caracara
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
