Crested Caracara, Caracara cheriway

Crested Caracara, Caracara cheriway. Birds photographed in the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, February 2011.

Crested Caracara, Caracara cheriway. Bird photographed within the confines of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona, February, 2022.

Crested Caracara, Caracara cheriway. Bird photographed in Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, March 2021. Photograph and identification courtesy of Marina Sutormina, Stockholm, Sweden.

Crested Caracara, Caracara cheriway. Photographs taken in the coastal area of Yavaros, Sonora, March 2017 and December 2018. Photographs and identifications courtesy of David F Smith, Alamos, Sonora.

The Crested Caracara, Caracara cheriway, is a member of the Falconidae Family of Falcons and Caracaras. They are large in stature. In Mexico they are found throughout Baja California Sur and in the northern mainland, except in the northern plateau, south to the northwest portion of the Yucatán Peninsula. Also found in the lowlands along the Pacific Slope in the states of Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas. They are found at elevations below 1,600 m (5,250 feet). From a conservation perspective the Crested Caracara is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are found in desert scrub on the plains and small hills that have cardon cactus, cholla cactus, mesquite, and palo verde. They feed primarily on carrion with their diets supplemented with a wide variety of live vertebrate and invertebrate prey, including amphibians, birds, eggs, fish, mammals, and reptiles.