Forster's Caracara (Phalcoboenus australis)

The Forster's Caracara is only found in the Falklands & other islands off the southern most tip of South America. They inhabit the rocky coasts, grassy lowlands, coastal mountain slopes & edges of forested areas.

Despite their appearance & behaviour, the Caracaras are very close relatives of the falcons.

Forster's Caracaras prey mainly on birds including Rockhopper & other penguins, cormorants, geese & ducks. They usually feed on dead or dying adult birds or chicks, but groups of Caracara will attack healthy adult penguins. They are also known to attack weak lambs & incapacitated adult sheep. They will also pirate food from seagulls & scavenge edible garbage around human habitation.

They nest in loose colonies, building small nests from twigs and grass on the ground. The breeding season is late October to January and 2-3 eggs are usually laid.

When Charles Darwin visited the Falkland Islands in the 1830s, he reported the population of Forster's Caracara as "exceedingly numerous". Sheep farming was introduced there in the 1850s but it wasn't until 1908 that they were considered such a significant pest that the Falklands Island Government classifioed them as a pest & agreed a bounty for their killing. Significant decreases in population were being reported as early as 1910, due to the bounty payments & by the early 1920s the population on some islands were so low that there were calls to halt the bounty payments. Despite the payments ceasing by the 1930s, the effect on the population is still being felt, at the end of the 20th century, it was estimated that there were only around 500-600 breeding pairs on the Falkland Islands, concentrated mainly on the more remote, uninhabitated islands. In 1999 the Falkland Islands government confirmed that the Forsters Caracara was amongst the most endangered birds of prey in the world & gave it full protection including a penalty of up to £3000 for shooting one, even if it is attacking livestock.

IUCN Red List Status :

Near Threatened (LC)

Also Called :