The falcons and caracaras are around 65 species of diurnal birds of prey that make up the family Falconidae. The family likely originated in South America during the Paleocene and is divided into three subfamilies: Herpetotherinae, which includes the laughing falcon and forest falcons; Polyborinae, which includes the spot-winged falconet and the caracaras; and Falconinae, the falcons and kestrels (Falco) and falconets (Microhierax).
The laughing falcon is a medium-sized bird of prey in subfamily Herpetotherinae of family Falconidae, the falcons and caracaras. It is found from Mexico south through Central America and in every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay.
The yellow-headed caracara is new-world bird of prey in the family Falconidae, of the Falconiformes order. It is found as far north as Nicaragua, south to Costa Rica and Panamá, every mainland South American country, and on the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The striated caracara or Forster's caracara is a Near Threatened bird of prey of the family Falconidae, the falcons and caracaras. It is found in Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands. In the Falklands it is known as the Johnny rook, probably named after the Johnny penguin.
The crested caracara, also known as the Mexican eagle, is a bird of prey in the falcon family, Falconidae. It is found from the southern and southeastern United States through Mexico and Central and South America, as well as some Caribbean islands. Documented rare sightings have occurred as far north as northern Minnesota and as far south as Tierra del Fuego.
Phalcoboenus is a small genus of caracara in the family Falconidae. They are found in barren, open habitats in the Andes, Patagonia and the Falkland Islands. The four species are almost entirely allopatric. The adults are distinctive, with bare yellow, orange or red facial skin and cere, and a black plumage with variable amounts of white. Juveniles are overall brown with pale pinkish-grey facial skin and cere. They are highly opportunistic and typically seen walking on the ground, where they will feed on carrion and virtually any small animal they can catch.
The black caracara is a species of bird of prey in the family Falconidae found in Amazonian and French Guianan lowlands, occurring commonly along rivers. They are locally referred to as Ger' futu busikaka in the Republic of Suriname, and juápipi {nẽjõmbʌ} by the Emberá of Panamá and Colombia. However, both of these names refer to multiple bird species within the Falconidae. German-Brazilian ornithologist Helmut Sick also referred to this species as gavião-de-anta, literally translating to "tapir-hawk".
The red-throated caracara is a social species of bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It is placed in the monotypic genus Ibycter, or sometimes united in Daptrius with the black caracara. Unique among caracaras, it mainly feeds on the larvae of bees and wasps, but also takes the adult insects and fruits and berries.
Buckley's forest falcon, also called lesser collared forest-falcon and Traylor's forest-falcon, is a species of bird of prey in subfamily Herpetotherinae of family Falconidae, the falcons and caracaras. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and possibly Colombia and Venezuela.
The lined forest falcon is a species of bird of prey in subfamily Herpetotherinae of family Falconidae, the falcons and caracaras. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The slaty-backed forest falcon is a species of bird of prey in subfamily Herpetotherinae of family Falconidae, the falcons and caracaras. It is found in Costa Rica, Panama, and every mainland South American country except Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The pied falconet, is a species of bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, India, Laos, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is temperate forests.
The chimango caracara 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.
The white-throated caracara or Darwin's caracara is a species of bird of prey in the family Falconidae, the falcons and caracaras. It is found in Argentina and Chile.
The carunculated caracara is a species of bird of prey in the family Falconidae, the falcons and caracaras. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.
The white-rumped falcon is a species of bird of prey in the family Falconidae native to Indochina. It is placed in its own monotypic genus, Neohierax.
The spot-winged falconet is a species of bird of prey in subfamily Falconinae of family Falconidae, the falcons and caracaras. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and possibly Uruguay.
Caracara is a genus in the family Falconidae and the subfamily Polyborinae. It contains one extant species, the crested caracara, and one recently extinct species, the Guadalupe caracara. The crested caracara had in recent years been split into a northern species C. cheriway and a southern species C. plancus, but the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society has voted to again merge the two, retaining C. plancus as the crested caracara. The taxonomists of the International Ornithologists' Union have also merged them.
Herpetotherinae is a subfamily of falconid birds of prey that includes eight species in two genera Herpetotheres and Micrastur. Both genera are found in South America and the subfamily is basal to the other falconid subfamilies where they split off around 30.2 million years ago in the Oligocene epoch. The two extant herpetotherine genera split around 20 million years ago in the Miocene epoch with the extinct genus Thegornis.
