Return of Bird of the Week: Striated Caracara
The Striated Caracara is a large, dark raptor, with a wingspan of about four feet, a little larger in the females. It has a very restricted range, limited to islands off extreme southern South America, the Falkland Islands and various islands, mostly to the south of the Beagle Channel and coastal areas of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. It is very dark brownish-black overall, with white stippling on the breast and upper belly, a dark chestnut lower belly and undertail coverts, a white band on the tail, and a yellow cere. It’s found along rocky coasts and nearby open…
Return of Bird of the Week: Striated Caracara
In the Falkland Islands, the ecological role of ravens, crows and vultures is occupied by a falcon, the Striated Caracara. This is one of the larger members of the falcon family, with a wingspan of about four feet. And you can see those talons aren’t anything you’d want to mess with. In the Falkland Islands, where WC saw this species, they are called Johnny Rook, a nod to the Rook, a species of Eurasian Crow, that occupies a similar ecological niche. Intelligent, fearless and curious, WC’s problem photographing this bird was that the bird kept walking towards him, too close…
Bird of the Week – Striated Caracara
The Striated Caracara is found in the Falkland Islands, in the far South Atlantic, east of the South America. It’s a member of the falcon family, but as often happens when a species reaches remote islands, it has expanded its ecological niche and acts more like a Common Raven. The locals call it “Johnny Rook.” Handsome, fearless and formerly common, it’s regarded as a threat to young and sick sheep by Falklanders. As a result, it’s badly persecuted, and the Falklands population is down to about 500 breeding pairs. The species is classified as “near-threatened.” For more bird images, please…