Green Backed Heron - Bird photography and identification
Black Caracara (Daptrius ater)
Black Caracara (Daptrius ater)
Photo description
From along the Rio Napo, Ecuador. Birds of Northern South America, An Idenfication Guide by Robin Restall et al 2006 is an excellent 2 volume set. The second volume contains the many beautiful illustrations but volume one also has a lot of interesting data such as 'Caracaras are a distinctive and fairly homogenous group, notable for their bare facial skin. Most are omnivorous and they are generally scavengers, always on the lookout for an easy meal. They pirate from other birds, rob nests of eggs and nestlings, scratch the ground and turn over dried cow pats to look for beetles and lift water lily leaves to peer beneath. They also will take fruit, and Red-throated Caracara can tear apart the fiercest hornets' nest to feed on the grubs. But they can be fierce predators and a pair works most efficiently as a team. Their name is said to be onomatopoeic, deriving from the morning cackling call of the Northern Caracara.'
Uploaded Mar 4, 2007 | Flickr URL
Tags for this photo
Sacha Lodge Ecuador Black Caracara Daptrius ater
2 comments have been posted about this photo

Good capture
Posted on Mar 4, 2007
Muchaxo says:
Great catch of this neat bird.
Posted on Mar 4, 2007
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