The Story
This Yellow-headed Caracara (Daptrius chimachima) perched quietly on a branch near Sapzurro Bay, just outside Capurganá in Chocó, Colombia, its pale buff head and underparts bright against dark wings. It ranges from Nicaragua to Uruguay, mostly below 1,000 meters. It is omnivorous and relies heavily on scavenging, eating carrion, insects, crabs, fish, reptiles, eggs and fruit, and it picks ticks off cattle and other large mammals. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Canon R5 with the RF 800mm f/11 plus the RF 1.4x extender for this one from about 32 meters, at 1/45 sec, f/16, ISO 3200. Capurganá can be reached only by boat or small plane, and it has no cars, which keeps the village and its forest edges quiet for birds like this one.
©2025 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