Falcon by Another Name

(Crested Caracara)

You are not going to forget the first time you see one of these birds. You’ll need to be in the very southern reaches of Texas, or in Mexico, or even further south in Panama to find one or more sitting on fences or, often, on the ground. On a gray day and at a distance it would be easy to mistake one for a Black Vulture. But if the sun comes out and a bright ray lights the stunning black crest and contrasting white neck, you might struggle to explain the impossible pinkish orange face that then transitions into a light-sky-blue beak. No vulture. It IS a Crested Caracara.

The Caracara is also distinguished as the national bird of Mexico—but NOT the noble raptor that graces the Mexican flag, grasping a thrashing snake in its talons. That bird is the Golden Eagle. Nonetheless, the Caracara holds its own, no second best in my mind.

When I prepared to paint the Caracara, I found a surprise. It is a falcon! More precisely, a member of the Falconidae family. The family’s members include all of the more familiar falcons from around the world as well as the caracaras, of which there are seven species. Who knew?