Red-throated Caracara (Ibycter americanus)
(formerly Daptrius americanus - see A.O.U.)
Red-throated Caracara, Borba, Amazonas, Brazil, August 2004 - click for larger image Brazil

It can look a bit like a guan from a distance but the Red-throated Caracara is quite distinctive close up with its red bare skin on the throat and its white belly. It is much clumsier than its close relations, the falcons.

They usually move around in small groups and are capable of making an ear-shattering noise when disturbed which leads to them being used by other forest species as a sentinel.

A major item of their diet is eggs and larvae of wasps and bees. However, it never seems to get stung despite its bare throat.

Red-throated Caracara, Cristalino, Mato Grosso, Brazil, April 2003 - click for larger image There are illustrations in HBW, Volume 2, Pages 223 and 248; and Hilty & Brown, Plate I.

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