{{Short description|Species of bird}} {{Use American English|date=February 2025}} {{Speciesbox | image = Chimango caracara (Daptrius chimango temucoensis) male Chiloe.jpg | image_caption = Male ''D. c. temucoensis'' | image2 = Chimango caracara (Daptrius chimango temucoensis) female Puerto Varas.jpg | image2_caption = Female ''D. c. temucoensis''<br> center|thumb|Vocalization | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=Chimango Caracara ''Phalcoboenus chimango'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T22696264A132066597 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22696264A132066597.en |access-date=14 February 2023}}</ref> | genus = Daptrius | species = chimango | authority = (Vieillot, 1816) | synonyms = * ''Phalcoboenus chimango''<ref name=HBW7>HBW 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</ref> * ''Milvago chimango'' * ''Polyborus chimango'' <small>Vieillot, 1816</small> | range_map = Phalcoboenus chimango map.svg }}
The '''chimango caracara''' ('''''Daptrius chimango'''''), also known as '''chimango''' or '''tiuque''', is a species of bird of prey in the family Falconidae, the falcons and caracaras. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay, as a vagrant on the Falkland Islands and has been introduced on Rapa Nui.
== Taxonomy and systematics == The chimango caracara was formally described in 1816 by French ornithologist Louis Vieillot under the binomial name ''Polyborus chimango''.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Vieillot | first=Louis Pierre | author-link=Louis Pierre Vieillot | year=1816 | title=Nouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle, appliquée aux arts, à l'agriculture, à l'économie rurale et domestique, à la médecine, etc. | edition=Nouvelle édition | volume=5 | location=Paris | publisher=Deterville |page=260 | doi=10.5962/bhl.title.20211 | language=French | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/18034737 }}</ref> Vieillot based his account on the "Chimango" from Paraguay that had been described by the Spanish naturalist Félix de Azara in 1802.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Azara | first=Félix de | author-link=Félix de Azara | year=1802 | title=Apuntamientos para la historia natural de los páxaros del Paragüay y Rio de la Plata | volume=1 | language=Spanish | location=Madrid | publisher=Imprenta de la Hija de Ibarra | page=47, No. 5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OqNNBJof3O0C&pg=PA47 }}</ref><ref>{{ cite book | editor1-last=Mayr | editor1-first=Ernst | editor1-link=Ernst Mayr | editor2-last=Cottrell | editor2-first=G. William | year=1979 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=1 | edition=2nd | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=394 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16109034 }}</ref> The specific epithet and the common name are from a local Argentinian onomatopoeia word "Chimango" for a caracara.<ref>{{ cite web | last=Jobling | first=James A. | title=chimangoe | work=The Key to Scientific Names | url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/key-to-scientific-names/search?q=chimango | publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology | access-date=1 November 2025 }}</ref> The chimango caracara was formerly placed with the yellow-headed caracara in the genus ''Milvago''. Molecular genetic studies found that ''Milvago'' was polyphyletic with the chimango caracara sister to the genus ''Phalcoboenus'' and the yellow-headed caracara sister to ''Daptrius''.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Fuchs | first1=J. | last2=Johnson | first2=J.A. | last3=Mindell | first3=D.P. | date=2012 | title=Molecular systematics of the caracaras and allies (Falconidae: Polyborinae) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data | journal=Ibis | volume=154 | issue=3 | pages=520–532 | doi=10.1111/j.1474-919X.2012.01222.x | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256255461 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Fuchs | first1=J. | last2=Johnson | first2=J.A. | last3=Mindell | first3=D.P. | date=2015 | title=Rapid diversification of falcons (Aves: Falconidae) due to expansion of open habitats in the Late Miocene | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=82 | pages=166–182 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2014.08.010 | bibcode=2015MolPE..82..166F | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266248448 }}</ref> As the genetic divergence was relatively shallow, the polyphyly was resolved by expanding the genus ''Daptrius'' to include the two other genera.<ref name=avilist>{{ cite web | author=AviList Core Team | date=2025 | title=AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025 | doi=10.2173/avilist.v2025 | doi-access=free | url=http://www.avilist.org/checklist/v2025/ | access-date=1 November 2025 }}</ref>
=== Subspecies === Two subspecies are recognised:<ref name=avilist/>
* ''D. c. chimango'' (Vieillot, 1816) – forest of southern Brazil and Paraguay to central Argentina and central Chile * ''D. c. temucoensis'' (Sclater, WL, 1918) – southern Chile and southern Argentina to Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn Archipelago
The population in Tierra del Fuego has sometimes been proposed as a third subspecies, ''D. c. fuegiensis''.<ref name=CHCA-BOW>Bierregaard, R. O., G. M. Kirwan, and P. F. D. Boesman (2022). Chimango Caracara (''Daptrius chimango''), 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.chicar1.01.1 retrieved February 14, 2023</ref>
<gallery mode="packed" heights="160"> File:Milvago chimango -Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil-8.jpg|Male, Brazil File:ChimangoCaracaraFemale.jpg|Female, Puerto Natales, Chile </gallery>
== Distribution and habitat == The nominate subspecies of the chimango caracara is found in northern and central Chile and from central Argentina east through Paraguay, southern Brazil, and Uruguay to the Atlantic Ocean. It is also a non-breeding visitor north into Bolivia. Subspecies ''D. c. temucoensis'' is found from southern Chile at about Concepción Province and southern Argentina at about the Chubut River south through Tierra del Fuego to Cape Horn. Individuals have roamed to the Falkland Islands. In addition, the species was introduced to Easter Island in the early 20th century.<ref name="CHCA-BOW" /><ref name="SACCcountries">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. 30 January 2023. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved January 30, 2023</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Marín |first1=M. |last2=Cáceres |first2=P. |date=2010 |title=Sobre las aves de Isla de Pascua |journal= Boletín del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Chile |volume=59 |pages=75–95 |doi=10.54830/bmnhn.v59.2010.188 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
The chimango caracara inhabits a wide variety of open landscapes including grassy Andean foothills, heathland, shrub–steppe, and marshes. It also occurs in open woods, plantations, villages, suburban and urban areas, and coastal flats. In Argentina it is often found along roads and areas with a mix of pristine and disturbed plots.<ref name="CHCA-BOW" /> One author says it is most common in the ranching and wheat belt of the Argentinian Pampas, around Chilean fishing villages, around extensive marshlands, and at "rubbish dumps anywhere".<ref name="Ferguson" /> It is the most common raptor in Argentinean Patagonia.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Donázar |first1=José A |last2=Ceballos |first2=Olga |last3=Travaini |first3=Alejandro |last4=Hiraldo |first4=Fernando |year=1993 |title=Roadside raptor surveys in the Argentinean Patagonia |journal=Journal of Raptor Research |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=106–110 |url=https://sora.unm.edu/node/53347 }}</ref> In elevation it is most common below {{convert|2000|m|ft|abbr=on}} but is regularly found up to {{convert|3000|m|ft|abbr=on}} and occasionally as high as {{convert|4000|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Ferguson" />
== Description == The chimango caracara is {{convert|32|to|43|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and weighs {{convert|170|to|260|g|oz|sigfig=2|abbr=on}}. Its wingspan is {{convert|80|to|99|cm|in|abbr=on}}. The sexes' plumages are alike. Adults of the nominate subspecies are mostly brownish throughout. They have dark streaks on the side of the head and on their hindneck. Their undersides are mottled or barred with rufous-brown. Their uppertail coverts are white and their tail is mottled grayish and white with a wide black band near the end. Also, their iris is brown. Males have bare yellow skin around the eye and yellow legs and feet. Females have reddish-pink skin around the eye and bluish-gray legs and feet. Juvenile birds have a strong rufous tinge overall and bare parts colored like the adult females. Subspecies ''D. c. temucoensis'' is a darker smoky brown than the nominate, and their underparts are more heavily marked.<ref name=Ferguson>{{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 =808–810 | language =en | isbn =0-618-12762-3 }}</ref><ref name=CHCA-BOW/>
<gallery mode="packed" heights="140"> File:Chimango caracara (Daptrius chimango chimango) in flight Colonia.jpg|Female ''D. c. chimango''<br>Colonia, Uruguay File:Chimango caracara (Daptrius chimango temucoensis) male in flight Chiloe.jpg|Male ''D. c. temucoensis''<br>Chiloé Island, Chile File:Chimango Caracara, Capital, Misiones, Argentina imported from iNaturalist photo 172402395 (cropped).jpg|Female, in Argentina </gallery>
== Behavior == === Movement === The chimango caracara is a year-round resident in most of its range. Populations in the far south are partially migratory, with individuals moving north mostly in the austral winter. Members of the northern populations move into Bolivia in the non-breeding season and also in small numbers as far north in Brazil as Minas Gerais and Goiás. There are a few records from the Falkland Islands.<ref name=Ferguson/><ref name=CHCA-BOW/><ref name=SACCcountries/>
=== Feeding === [[File:Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris 203710988.jpg|thumb|Perched on a capybara, in Buenos Aires. Chimango caracaras are known to feed on ticks on capybaras.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sazima |first=Ivan |last2=Sazima |first2=Cristina |date=2010 |title=Cleaner birds: an overview for the Neotropics |url=https://www.scielo.br/j/bn/a/cx4vzMJnKQMKjDftsVXb5sp/?lang=en&format=html |journal=Biota Neotropica |language=en |volume=10 |pages=195–203 |doi=10.1590/S1676-06032010000400025 |issn=1676-0611|doi-access=free }}</ref>]]
The chimango caracara is omnivorous, "a small-scale predator and general scavenger".<ref name=Ferguson/> Its live prey include insects and other invertebrates, lizards, amphibians, the eggs and young of other birds, and rodents. It scavenges small roadkill and also the carcasses of larger animals after other predators have left. It eats smaller amounts of vegetable matter like rotten apples, fungi, and what it can glean from horse and cattle dung. Furthermore, it typically forages on the wing, flying somewhat randomly up to {{convert|10|m|ft|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} above the ground and dropping onto prey or other food sources. It often follows farmers as they plow (assemblies of more than 100 birds have been observed), congregates at grass fires, and frequents fishing villages and shellfish processing plants for their waste. It pirates food from other raptors and large waterbirds.<ref name=Ferguson/><ref name=CHCA-BOW/> Individuals have been observed catching live fish from the surface of water.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sazima |first1=Ivan |last2=Olmos |first2=Fabio |title=The Chimango Caracara (''Milvago chimango''), an additional fisher among Caracarini falcons |journal=Biota Neotropica |date=September 2009 |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=403–405 |doi=10.1590/S1676-06032009000300036 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
=== Breeding === {{Easy CSS image crop|Image=Daptrius chimango chimango, Talagante Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile imported from iNaturalist photo 109121180.jpg|desired_width=250|caption=Harassing a black-chested buzzard-eagle, in Chile|crop_left_perc=20|crop_right_perc=35|crop_top_perc=15|crop_bottom_perc=20}}
The chimango caracara's breeding season spans September to January, with eggs laid from mid-October to mid-November in much of its range. It usually nests in trees, building a stick platform up to about {{convert|30|m|ft|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} above the ground, but much lower in Patagonia and oriented to avoid prevailing winds. In areas with few trees, it will nest on the ground or tussocks in a marsh. Tree nests of adjoining pairs are usually fairly far apart. Ground nesting can be colonial, for example, an observation of more than 70 nests in a {{convert|1.5|ha|acre|abbr=on}} site. The clutch size is usually two or three eggs but up to five is not uncommon. The incubation period is 26 to 32 days and fledging occurs 32 to 41 days after hatch. Both sexes build the nest, incubate the clutch, and provision the young.<ref name=Ferguson/><ref name=CHCA-BOW/>
=== Cognitive behavior === The chimango caracara is an intelligent bird and has high problem-solving abilities compared to other birds. "The explorative tendency, low neophobia, and ability to innovate showed by ''D. chimango'' may be advantageous for this generalist and opportunistic raptor and might be some of the factors underlying its ecological success."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Biondi |first1=Laura Marina |last2=Bó |first2=María Susana |last3=Vassallo |first3=Aldo Iván |title=Inter-individual and age differences in exploration, neophobia and problem-solving ability in a Neotropical raptor (''Milvago chimango'') |journal=Animal Cognition |date=1 September 2010 |volume=13 |issue=5 |pages=701–710 |doi=10.1007/s10071-010-0319-8 |pmid=20300791 |s2cid=23755597 }}</ref>
{{birdsong|url=https://xeno-canto.org/species/Milvago-chimango |species=chimango caracara}}
=== Vocalization === The chimango caracara is usually most vocal during the breeding season "particularly if human or other intruders [are] near nest", but also calls during disputes over food. Its most common call is a "loud petulant squealing ''keeeeee-eh''" that is usually made singly and often in flight. It also makes a "more chattering...''keag-keah-keah...''" or "''ke-ew, ke-ew, ke-ew''" and a "variety of squeals, growls, and hissing whistles."<ref name=Ferguson/>
== Status == The IUCN has assessed the chimango caracara as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range, and though its population size is not known it is believed to be increasing. No immediate threats have been identified.<ref name=IUCN/> "Currently thriving, perhaps benefitting in part from deforestation, and is the commonest raptor through much of Chile and Argentina."<ref name=CHCA-BOW/>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== Further reading == * {{cite book |last=Meiburg |first=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan Meiburg |date=2021 |title=A Most Remarkable Creature |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Most_Remarkable_Creature/LGXvDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq&printsec=frontcover |location=New York |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |isbn=978-1-101-87570-4 |language=en}}
== External links == {{Commons category}} * [http://www.avesdechile.cl/0jpgn/253.jpg Image of ''Chimango Caracara''] * [http://www.avesdechile.cl/253.htm Image and description of ''C. Caracara'']
{{Taxonbar|from=Q934445}}
chimango caracara chimango caracara Category:Birds of Argentina Category:Birds of Brazil Category:Birds of Chile Category:Birds of Paraguay Category:Birds of Uruguay chimango caracara Category:Taxa named by Louis Pierre Vieillot Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Category:Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN <!-- Milvago chimango -->