Caracara (subfamily) explained

Caracaras are birds of prey in the family Falconidae. They are traditionally placed in subfamily Polyborinae with the forest falcons,[1] but are sometimes considered to constitute their own subfamily, Caracarinae,[2] or classified as 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).

Species

Image Genus Living Species
Daptrius
Ibycter
Phalcoboenus
Caracara
Milvago

Distribution

The caracaras are found throughout much of the Americas. The range of the crested caracara extends as far north as the states of Arizona, Texas, and Florida in the United States.[4] In the Southern Hemisphere, the striated caracara inhabits the Falkland Islands and Tierra del Fuego, just off the coast of the southernmost tip of South America.[5]

Taxonomy

The genus Caracara Merrem 1826 was previously known as Polyborus Vieillot 1816. Hence, the differing subfamily names Polyborinae or Caracarinae. In addition, different authors give differing scopes to the subfamily, sometimes including the forest falcons, laughing falcon, or spot-winged falconet.

Peters' checklist[6] in 1931 listed the caracaras in their own subfamily, Polyborinae, containing Daptrius, Milvago, Phalcobœnus, and Polyborus. Ibycter americanus is included as Daptrius americanus.

Whilst recognizing "three major, deep divisions in the Falconidae",[7] the South American Classification Committee (SACC) of the American Ornithologists' Union voted[8] in 2007 to recognize two subfamilies: Herpetotherinae containing the forest falcons; and Falconinae containing the caracaras and true falcons.

Based on recent research in molecular genetics,[9] John Boyd[10] places the spot-winged falconet (Spiziapteryx) in Caracarinae, and the forest falcons in Herpetotherinae. He also comments that "many of the caracaras are closely related, and it would not be unreasonable to merge Ibycter, Milvago, and Phalcoboenus into Daptrius".

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Subfamily Polyborinae (caracaras and forest falcons) . P. R. . Myers . C. S. . Parr . T. . Jones . G. S. . Hammond . T. A. . Dewey . Animal Diversity Web . University of Michigan . 21 August 2009 . 1 December 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071201073045/http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Polyborinae.html . live .
  2. Web site: Check-list of North American Birds . North American Classification Committee . American Ornithologists' Union . 21 August 2009 . 6 June 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110606012536/http://www.aou.org/checklist/north/full.php#Falconiformes . live .
  3. Web site: A classification of the bird species of South America . South American Classification Committee . American Ornithologists' Union . 21 August 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091005053546/http://www.aou.org/checklist/south.php . 5 October 2009.
  4. Web site: Crested Caracara . All About Birds . Cornell Lab of Ornithology . 21 August 2009 . 27 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201127195438/https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/crested_caracara/id . live .
  5. Distribution, Breeding and Status of the Striated Caracara (Phalcoboenus australis) (Gmelin, 1788) in Southern Chile . Manuel . Marín . Alejandro Kusch . David Oehler . Scott Drieschman . Anales del Instituto de la Patagonia . 2006 . 34 . 65–74 . 21 August 2009 . 18 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190418212539/http://featherlink.org/images/caracara_1_.pdf . dead .
  6. Book: Peters. James Lee. Check-list of birds of the world: volume 1. 1931. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.. Subfamily Polyborinae. 20 February 2018. 12 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181012042119/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14478333. live.
  7. Web site: South American Classification Committee. A Classification of the Bird Species of South America, Part 5 (Trogoniformes to Psittaciformes). 22 September 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140203130314/http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline05.htm. 3 February 2014. live. 8 September 2014. version 21.
  8. Web site: Remsen . Van . Proposal (#281) to South American Classification Committee: Classification within Falconidae . 22 September 2014 . June 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150919034947/http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCprop281.html . 19 September 2015 .
  9. Fuchs. J.. Johnson. J. A.. Mindell. D. P.. Molecular systematics of the caracaras and allies (Falconidae: Polyborinae) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data. Ibis. 2012. 154. 3 . 520–532. 10.1111/j.1474-919x.2012.01222.x.
  10. Web site: Boyd. John H.. Falconiformes. Taxonomy in Flux Checklist. 26 September 2014. 11 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210111105107/http://jboyd.net/Taxo/List12.html#falconiformes. live.

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