caracara

American  

[kahr-uh-kahr-uh, kar-uh-kar-uh] / ˌkɑr əˈkɑr ə, ˌkær əˈkær ə /

noun

1. any of certain long-legged birds of prey of the falcon family, of the southern U.S. and Central and South America that feed on carrion.

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caracara British  

/ ˌkɑːrəˈkɑːrə /

noun

1. any of various large carrion-eating diurnal birds of prey of the genera Caracara, Polyborus, etc, of S North, Central, and South America, having long legs and naked faces: family Falconidae (falcons)

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Etymology

Origin of caracara

1830–40; < Spanish or Portuguese < Tupi; imitative of its cry

Example Sentences

Dr. Walschburger stepped right through them as savanna hawks and caracaras, two common birds of prey on the llanos, swooped excitedly over the smoldering pasture, hunting escaping rodents and reptiles.

From New York Times

But travel to the Falkland Islands near the Argentine coast, and you’ll find not parrots or crows but freakishly smart falcons called striated caracaras.

From New York Times

The image shows two crested caracara birds, on a tree branch in southern Texas, USA.

From BBC

For two decades, he has recorded as Shearwater; last year, he released his first book, a kind of personal history of the “world’s smartest bird of prey,” the caracara.

From New York Times

He pointed out wild llama-like guanacos grazing on the steppe, a gray fox running across the road, and caracara falcons perched on the fence posts.

From Washington Post