Costa Rica Raptors
April 26th, 2014

Crested Caracara was one of my early lifers, being both common and distinctive enough that it's hard to miss. (You might have seen one yourself if you've ever been to Florida, Texas or Arizona.) Even though this bird is part of the falcon family, it's more of a scavenger than a hunter. Like vultures it has a bare face, and for the same reason: to help it stay clean despite its somewhat unsavory eating habits. When it does hunt, it's as likely to take insects as animals.

One day I even found a Caracara with the Cattle Egrets, foraging in the tractor's wake as they did. I got a good shot of him when he perched beside the road.





Roadside Hawks occupy a similar niche in the tropics to the one Red-Tailed Hawks occupy here: hunting small mammals at field edges, often close to human settlement. They also take the occasional insect or lizard. This one came down almost to eye level and even did a bit of hunting as I stood there.


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Meanwhile... ←

→ Carara National Park (part 1)