The Story
I photographed this juvenile Yellow-headed Caracara (Daptrius chimachima) at Parque Ecotemático Wisirare, near Orocué, Casanare, Colombia. The species is found from Nicaragua to Uruguay, mostly from sea level to 1,000 meters, and it moves into cleared land. It eats carrion, insects, small animals, eggs and fruit, and it takes much of its food while walking on the ground. Mixed-species flocks apparently do not treat it as a threat and give no alarm calls when it is near. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L, at 1/1000 sec, f/6.7, ISO 3200. Wisirare is home to the Fundación Palmarito’s Orinoco Crocodile breeding center, which raises young crocodiles for release into the wild in Colombia’s Orinoquía region.
©2021 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