Trivia question for Aug-13-2011

Olivia learned something special about this bird today so she decided to feature them in our trivia.  These are very adaptable birds of prey that look and behave like a vulture.  They spend hours turning over cow manure, hunting for insects.  They have even been seen feeding on coconut flesh at harvest time in the plantations of Guyana.

In South America, only deserts and dense forest region lack populations of hese birds.  Their remarkable ability to exploit new resources of food and cope with human activities, help it to thrive across a vast range on both sides of the equator.

So here are Olivia’s questions:  Tell us what this bird is and how it got its name?  Also, tell us which country depicted this bird on their national flag?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations to Tami Kannenberg from Bellingham, Washington for being the first to identify the bird we featured. This cool looking bird is the Crested Caracara. Caracara is a genus of birds of prey in the family Falconidae found throughout a large part of the Americas. They are part of a group collectively referred to as caracaras. The modern species in the genus Caracara were previously considered conspecific (as “Crested Caracara” – a name still widely used for the Northern Caracara).

These birds are usually silent, but has a cackling call, which gives the bird its name.  The eagle depicted on the Mexican flag, and believed to be an omen of good luck, is in fact a crested caracara.  Here is more on these regal birds: Crested Caracara

Thanks for playing along 😉