Caracara lutosa
Distinguished by its overall darker, more blackish-brown plumage compared to its mainland relatives, the Guadalupe Caracara measured approximately 50 cm (20 inches) in total length with a wingspan of about 120 cm (47 inches). Adults sported a dark blackish-brown cap and body, contrasting with a whitish-buff throat and streaked breast, and characteristic yellowish-orange to reddish bare facial skin that likely intensified during breeding. Yellow legs and a blue-grey hooked bill completed its d...
Endemic to Guadalupe Island, Mexico, it inhabited arid shrubland, grassland, and rocky slopes from sea level to higher elevations.
Primarily carrion (especially goats), supplemented with seabird chicks, small reptiles, insects, and small mammals, typically scavenged or hunted terrestrially.
Unlike many raptors, the Guadalupe Caracara was largely terrestrial, spending considerable time walking and running on the ground in search of food during daylight hours. Its primary foraging strategy involved scavenging on carrion, particularly the carcasses of introduced goats, though it also a...
The Guadalupe Caracara was historically endemic and strictly confined to Guadalupe Island, a volcanic island located off the coast of Baja California, Mexico, in the North Pacific Ocean. It was a resident species, occupying the island's arid and semi-arid landscapes year-round, from coastal areas...
Extinct
- Known for its remarkable tameness and lack of fear towards humans, a trait common in island endemics lacking natural predators. - Its extinction was primarily caused by poisoning and shooting by goat herders, who believed it preyed on young goats (though scavenging on dead goats was more likely...