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caracara

 
Dictionary: car·a·car·a   (kăr'ə-kăr'ə, -kə-rä') pronunciation
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n.
Any of several large, carrion-eating or predatory hawks of the subfamily Caracarinae, native to South and Central America and the southern United States.

[Spanish and Portuguese caracará, both from Tupi caracara.]


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Veterinary Dictionary: caracara
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A group of predatory birds in the family Falconidae that are characterized by long legs and reddish skin on the cheeks and throat. Called also carrion hawks. The common caracara, Polyborus plancus, is found in North and South America.

WordNet: caracara
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: any of various long-legged carrion-eating hawks of South and Central America

Wikipedia: Caracara
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Caracara
Mountain Caracara
Phalcoboenus megalopterus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Falconiformes
Family: Falconidae
Subfamily: Polyborinae
Genera

Caracaras are birds of prey in the family Falconidae. They are traditionally placed in the subfamily Polyborinae,[1] but are sometimes considered part of their own subfamily, Caracarinae,[2] or members of the true falcon subfamily, Falconinae.[3] Caracaras are principally birds of South and Central America, just reaching the southern United States.

Unlike the Falco falcons in the same family, the birds in the five relevant genera are not fast-flying aerial hunters, but are comparatively slow and are often scavengers (a notable exception being the Red-throated Caracara).

Contents

Species

Distribution

The caracaras are found throughout much of the Americas. The range of the Northern Caracara extends as far north as the states of Arizona, Texas, and Florida in the United States.[4] On the other hand, the Striated Caracara inhabits the Falkland Islands and Tierra del Fuego, just off the coast of the southernmost tip of South America.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ Myers, P. R.; C. S. Parr; T. Jones; G. S. Hammond; T. A. Dewey. "Subfamily Polyborinae (caracaras and forest falcons)". Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Polyborinae.html. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
  2. ^ "Check-list of North American Birds". North American Classification Committee. American Ornithologists' Union. http://www.aou.org/checklist/north/full.php#Falconiformes. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
  3. ^ "A classification of the bird species of South America". South American Classification Committee. American Ornithologists' Union. http://www.aou.org/checklist/south.php. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
  4. ^ "Crested Caracara". All About Birds. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Crested_Caracara/id. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
  5. ^ Marín, Manuel; Alejandro Kusch; David Oehler; Scott Drieschman (2006). "Distribution, Breeding and Status of the Striated Caracara (Phalcoboenus australis) (Gmelin, 1788) in Southern Chile". Anales Instituto Patagonia 34: 65-74. http://www.featherlink.org/images/caracara_1_.pdf. 

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Caracara".  Read more