White-throated caracara

{{speciesbox

| image = Phalcoboenus albogularis, Los Glaciares (cropped).jpg

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=White-throated Caracara Phalcoboenus albogularis |volume=2016 |page=e.T22696244A93551329 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22696244A93551329.en |access-date=14 February 2023}}

| status2 = CITES_A2

| status2_system = CITES

| status2_ref = {{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=February 13, 2023|website=cites.org}}

| genus = Phalcoboenus

| species = albogularis

| authority = (Gould, 1837)

| synonyms = Daptrius albogularis

| range_map = Phalcoboenus albogularis map.svg

}}

The white-throated caracara or Darwin's caracara (Phalcoboenus albogularis) is a species of bird of prey in the family Falconidae, the falcons and caracaras. It is found in Argentina and Chile.{{cite web |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/falcons/ |title=Seriemas, falcons |website=IOC World Bird List |version =v 13.1 |editor-last1=Gill |editor-first1= F. |editor-last2=Donsker|editor-first2=D.|editor-last3=Rasmussen |editor-first3=P. |date=January 2023 |access-date=February 11, 2023 }}{{cite book | last1 =Ferguson-Lees | first1 =James | last2 =Christie | first2 =David A. | author-link =James Ferguson-Lees | title =Raptors of the World | publisher =Houghton Mifflin | date =2001 | location =New York | pages =801–802 | language =en | isbn =0-618-12762-3 }}

File:MilvagoAlbogularisGould.jpg

Taxonomy and systematics

The white-throated caracara is a member of order Falconiformes, which different taxonomic systems assign 65 or 66 species; 10, 11 or 12 genera; and two or three subfamilies.Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 10, 2022HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip retrieved December 13, 2022 The caracaras contributes the most to the differences. The American Ornithological Society, the International Ornithological Committee, and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World place the white-throated caracara in genus Phalcoboenus. The Clements taxonomy places it in genus Daptrius. The four systems differ on the genera of several other caracaras as well.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 30 January 2023. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved January 30, 2023{{cite journal | last1=Fuchs | first1=Jérôme | last2=Johnson | first2=Jeff A. | last3=Mindell | first3=David P. | title=Molecular systematics of the caracaras and allies (Falconidae: Polyborinae) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data | journal=Ibis | publisher=Wiley | volume=154 | issue=3 | date=2012-03-05 | issn=0019-1019 | doi=10.1111/j.1474-919x.2012.01222.x | pages=520–532}}

The white-throated caracara and the carunculated caracara (P. carunculatus) were formerly treated as subspecies of the mountain caracara (P. megalopterus) but the three are now considered a superspecies due to their shallow genetic differences.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 30 January 2023. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved January 30, 2023Bierregaard, R. O. and G. M. Kirwan (2022). White-throated Caracara (Daptrius albogularis), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (N. D. Sly, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.whtcar1.01.1 retrieved February 14, 2023 Possible hybrids between the white-throated and mountain caracaras have been reported but not widely accepted.

Taxonomic systems agree that the white-throated caracara is monotypic.

Description

The white-throated caracara is {{convert|49|to|55|cm|in|abbr=on}} long with a wingspan of {{convert|110|to|124|cm|in|abbr=on}}. It has a small crest, long wings with clear "fingers" on the tips, and a long rounded tail. The sexes' plumages are alike. Adults' upperparts are mostly brownish black to black with white uppertail coverts. Their underparts and tips of the tail feathers are pure unmarked white. The undersides of their primaries have black and white bands at their base. Their bare facial skin is yellow-orange, their iris is hazel to brown, and their legs and feet yellow. Juveniles have dark brown upperparts and bluish white facial skin, legs, and feet.

Distribution and habitat

The white-throated caracara is the southernmost member of the "mountain caracara" superspecies. It is found from south-central Chile's Los Lagos Region and western Argentina's Mendoza Province south to Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn. It inhabits open mountain slopes, southern beech (Nothofagus) forest, open woodland, and dense scrublands. In Chile it ranges in elevation from about {{convert|500|to|2500|m|ft|abbr=on}} and in Argentina from sea level to {{convert|3000|m|ft|abbr=on}}.

Behavior

=Movement=

The white-throated caracara's movements are imperfectly known; the species is thought to be somewhat nomadic.

=Feeding=

Information is sparse on the white-throated caracara's diet and foraging behavior. It is known to feed on carrion, for instance dead guanaco (Lama guanicoe) and cattle, and has also been documented preying on small rodents. Small numbers gather with vultures at carcasses and with other caracara species at sheep slaughter, and it will attempt to drive off its competitors. It is thought to seek food while in flight rather than walking on the ground like some other caracaras.

=Breeding=

Little is known about the white-throated caracara's breeding biology. It builds a stick nest on a rock ledge. Its clutch of two or three eggs is probably laid in October-November. The incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known.

{{birdsong|url=https://xeno-canto.org/species/Phalcoboenus-albogularis |species=white-throated caracara}}

=Vocalization=

As of early 2023, xeno-canto and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library each had only two recordings of white-throated caracara vocalizations. "The call is said to be a deeper version of that of Chimango" but the chimango caracara has "far more peevish whinings".

Status

The IUCN has assessed the white-throated caracara as being of Least Concern. Though it has a restricted range and an estimated population of fewer than 6700 mature individuals, the latter is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified. It is said to be common in Nothofagus forest, and occurs in at least three national parks. "Habitat not subject to much disturbance, and no persecution reported, so presumably not a species of immediate concern."