The Story
I photographed this Yellow-headed Caracara (Daptrius chimachima) at Hacienda La Corona, near Santander de Quilichao in Cauca, Colombia. It is found from Nicaragua to Uruguay. Much of its food is taken while walking on the ground, and its very broad diet runs from carrion and insects to fruit; it also picks ticks from cattle and other large mammals. It moves readily into lowland areas as forest is turned into ranches and farms. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I photographed it with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11 plus the RF 1.4x extender, at 1/60 sec, f/16, ISO 3200, −0.5 EV. Santander de Quilichao’s town council made the Yellow Oriole, known locally as the chicao, its emblem bird.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Yellow-headed Caracara (Daptrius chimachima) belongs to the family Falconidae (Falcons and Caracaras) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2020), with the population trend listed as increasing. Source: IUCN Red List
