Phalcoboenus | |
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Mountain caracara (Phalcoboenus megalopterus) | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Falconiformes |
Family: | Falconidae |
Subfamily: | Polyborinae |
Genus: | Phalcoboenus d'Orbigny, 1834 |
Type species | |
Phalcoboenus montanus [1] d'Orbigny, 1834 | |
Species | |
Phalcoboenus carunculatus | |
Synonyms [2] | |
Phalcobaenus d'Orbigny, 1835 [3] |
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 extant 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 name, meaning "walking falcon", [5] is derived from Greek: φάλκων 'phálcōn' (hawk, falcon) and βαίνω 'baínō' (I go, I walk). [6] The original lithograph print produced for Alcide d'Orbigny is captioned "Phalcobœnus montanus" with an o-e ligature, [7] but his later text has "Phalcobænus montanus" with a-e ligature in "Phalcobaenus". [6]
There are four extant and one extinct species.
The extant species are:
Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
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![]() | Phalcoboenus carunculatus | Carunculated caracara | Ecuador and Colombia. |
![]() | Phalcoboenus megalopterus | Mountain caracara | Bolivia, Chile, Peru and Argentina |
![]() | Phalcoboenus albogularis | White-throated caracara | southern Chile and Argentina |
![]() | Phalcoboenus australis | Striated caracara | Tierra del Fuego, but is more abundant in the Falklands |
The extinct species is Phalcoboenus napieri which is known from subfossil remains unearthed in peat deposits from the Falkland Islands, described in 2016 and named for Roddy Napier, the owner of West Point Island in the Falklands. [8]
Genus Oronertus Heine (!) [Phalcobaenus Lafr. 1837]. / 1. megalopterus (Meyen) …Page 272. Heine senior's collection contained three specimens of O./P. megalopterus from Patagonia and Bolivia, carunculatus is not catalogued. They list Ichthyoborus, Alectromorphuus (Buteogallus), Heterospizias, Hypomorphuus, Erythrocnema, Milvago, Polyborus, Daptrius, and Ibycter as sister genera under subfamily Polyborinae.
De φάλκων, faucon, et de βαίνω, je marche : Faucon marcheur.