As we were approaching our lodging on the second night on a trip to the Pantanal Region of Brazil, I noticed this caracara sitting on a tree and the sun setting behind him. I quickly scurried down the bank beside the road and into the grass to get this shot. The Crested Caracara, Polyborus plancus, ranges from the Southwestern United States and Florida south to the tip of South America. It prefers carrion but will take advantage of any food opportunity. The Caracara spends more time on the ground than other members of the falcon family. At one of our hotels they were running around the grounds like chickens.
060909W3P0546 BUY NOW