Red-throated Caracara (Ibycter americanus)

Identification & Behavior: ~51 cm (20 in). The Red-throated Caracara is slate gray with clean white lower belly. The face and throat in the adult are bright red. The cere is blue. The juvenile is a dull version of the adult with dull yellowish face and throat. The plumage of the Red-throated Caracara is unmistakable, but see a male Snail Kite.

Status: The Red-throated Caracara is generally uncommon in Amazonia where it is known to range up to 1500 m along the foothill of the Andes. It favors forest interior where it is more often heard than seen. It also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Caracara de Vientre Blanco.

Sub-species: Red-throated Caracara (Ibycter americanus), Boddaert 1783.

Meaning of Name: Ibycter: Gr. ibuktër, ibuö= singing or yelling war songs. americanus: L. americanus= relative to the American continent, America.

See more of the Family Falconidae