Vulture falcon

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Vulture falcon
Crested caracara (Caracara plancus)

Crested caracara ( Caracara plancus )

Systematics
Sub-stem : Vertebrates (vertebrata)
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Falk-like (falconiformes)
Family : Falconies (Falconidae)
Subfamily : Vulture falcon
Scientific name
Caracarinae
d'Orbigny , 1837
Genera

The vulture falcons (Caracarinae, formerly called Polyborinae) or Karakaras are a group of predatory birds of the New World that are placed in their own subfamily in the falcon-like family (Falconidae).

The subfamily includes 5 genera and 9 species . The vulture falcons are traditionally listed as a separate subfamily of the Falconidae, including in the Check-list of North American Birds of the North American Classification Committee (NACC) of the American Ornithologists' Union . According to the classification of the South American Classification Committee (SACC) of the same ornithological association, the genera of the vulture falcon are classified together with the genus Falco in the subfamily of the real falcons (Falconinae) . The name "Karakara" (or Caracara ) is first documented in 1648 in the Historia Naturalis Brasiliae as a native - i.e. Indian - name of a bird of prey found in Brazil ; however, it is questionable whether the animal depicted there actually represents a carakara or rather a white- browed harrier ( Circus buffoni ).

Vulture falcons are native to South and Central America, one species, the crested caracara ( Caracara plancus ), has a distribution area as far as the southern USA. Unlike the real falcons , vulture falcons are not fast-flying hunters, but rather adaptable opportunists when it comes to food. In addition to insects, worms and small vertebrates, many of the species have specialized in carrion as an easily accessible main food. Waste from human settlements is also part of the diet of some species.

Genera and species

Subfamily vulture falcons (Karakaras)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Check-list of North American Birds North American Classification Committee, American Ornithologists' Union, 2009
  2. ^ PR Myers, CS Parr, T. Jones, GS Hammond, TA Dewey: Subfamily Polyborinae (caracaras and forest falcons) Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan
  3. ^ Ferguson-Lees & Christie: The birds of prey of the world. (German by Volker Dierschke and Jochen Dierschke). Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-440-11509-1
  4. ↑ A classification of the bird species of South America ( Memento of the original from April 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. South American Classification Committee, American Ornithologists' Union  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.museum.lsu.edu
  5. ↑ Willem Piso and Georg Marggraf: Historia naturalis Brasiliae in qua non tantum plantae et animalia, sed et indigenarum morbi, ingenia et mores describuntur et iconibus supra quingentas illustrantur , Lugdun. Batavorum: Apud Franciscum Hackium; et Amstelodami: Apud Lud. Elzevirium 1648, p. 211 ( digitized version )
  6. ↑ Ad. Schneider: The bird pictures for the Historia Naturalis Brasiliae of Georg Marcgrave . In: Journal für Ornithologie 1938: 6, Supplementheft 1, p. 93.
  7. ^ D. Amadon, On the Correct Names for the Caracaras and the Long-winged Harrier . In: The Auk 71, April 1954, pp. 203-204
  8. ↑ Storrs L. Olson: A New Species of Large, Terrestrial Caracara from Holocene Deposits in Southern Jamaica (Aves: Falconidae) . Journal of Raptor Research 42 (4): 265-272. 2008 doi : 10.3356 / JRR-08-18.1

literature

  • Ferguson-Lees & Christie: The birds of prey of the world (German by Volker Dierschke and Jochen Dierschke). Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-440-11509-1

Web links

Commons : Vulture Falcon (Caracarinae)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files