Looks like a hawk. Scavenges for carrion like a vulture. Is actually a falcon.
Common in open grasslands, rangelands, and scrubby areas of South & Central America, a small population, about 1,000 individuals, lives in the similar dry prairies with scattered palm cabbage of south-central Florida. Most of which are within large private cattle ranches. The cattle & pasture management tend to keep the grass short in large open territories with intact palm hammocks that the birds prefer.
This habitat & the banning of DDT that was decimating all raptors has helped the Crested Caracara population numbers to rebound from the steep decline in the early 20th century.
But. These ranches are rapidly being replaced, especially in the northern Kissimmee River valley, with large scale, dense housing development. Caracara’s population numbers are dropping again.
Florida & U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have listed Crested Caracaras as Threatened. Both have started programs to study the decline & inform conservation policies.
