134 BULLETIN 17 0, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Leon Dawson (1923) tells of one that was attacked by a shrike. Al- 

 most any small bird would probably drive one away from the vicinity 

 of its nest, or at least attempt to do so. 



W. J. Hoxie writes me that a pair he had in captivity became very 

 tame; he says: "They lived contentedly in a large cage until I went 

 to work on the railroad. A number of years after that, when the male 

 was at the German Club, he knew me so well that, when he escaped 

 and went into the neighboring woods, I called him down out of a tall 

 pine tree and took him back to the club. Some years after that, when 

 he was at the Casino in Isle of Hope, he made such a fuss when he 

 saw me that I had to go and pacify him by scratching his head through 

 the bars of his cage. He was then about 12 years old." 



Voice. — The caracara is usually a very silent bird, except for a 

 warning cry to its mate when its nest is threatened. Dr. Barbour 

 (1923) says: "Gundlach notes that when frightened or irritated it 

 gives a high-pitched shriek, but I believe that observation was made 

 from Gundlach's famous pet which he raised from the nest and kept 

 for fifteen years. The Caracara habitually rests perching, usually in 

 the very top of a high tree or on some steep hillock. Often in the 

 morning, or before sundown, it throws back its head until it almost 

 touches its shoulders and gives its high, cackling cry which gave rise 

 to the Brazilian name of Caracara, the Cuban Caraira, and the less 

 apt Argentine name of Carancho." 



Field marks. — Audubon's caracara is a well-marked bird. Its pose 

 in flight is much like that of the bald eagle, having a much longer 

 neck and tail and a slenderer form than most other hawks. Its color 

 pattern is also distinctive, especially the head markings; the large 

 white patch in the primaries and the white tail, broadly tipped with 

 black, are both very conspicuous in flight and can be recognized at a 

 long distance. Young birds are much browner than adults, but the 

 pattern is very similar. At short range the eaglelike bill and the red 

 face may be seen. While walking on the ground, it suggests to me a 

 short-legged secretary bird. 



Winter. — Being a semitropical species, it is resident throughout the 

 year over most of its range. There is probably some migration from 

 the northern limits of its breeding range, for Dr. Merrill (1878) says 

 that, in southern Texas, it is "more abundant in winter than in sum- 

 mer. This seems to be due to a partial migration, from the north, of 

 birds in immature plumage, for the number of mature individuals does 

 not seem to vary." 



DISTRIBUTION 



Range.— Southern United States, Cuba, and Central America; non- 

 migratory. 



The range of Audubon's caracara extends north to Baja California 

 (Santa Margarita Island and probably San Ignacio); southern Ari- 



