Undertaker – The Crested Caracara

Originally published on Audubon Guides on October 14th, 2012

Throughout Florida’s rural landscape, thousands of miles of asphalt scars bisect pasturelands and create obstacles for every species of wildlife including rodents, frogs, owls, pigs, bears, panthers and so many more. A desolate wilderness is not a promise of safe harbor and the roadsides are often littered with carcasses of the quick…and yet dead.

A ghoulish gaggle of Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures often accompanies the funeral service, completing the deceased’s transition from life to death. Vultures feed primarily on carrion, although Black Vultures will assist in dispatching creatures still clinging to life. With weak talons and slow flight, they are ill equipped to chase and kill anything with much more spirit.

Crested Caracara and Turkey Vulture © Pete Corradino

In south central Florida, one of the rarest birds in the state can be seen in pairs, crowding a flock of vultures and dominating a carcass. The Crested Caracara, also found in Texas and Arizona is endangered in Florida in part due to increased agriculture lands. The roads that bring the roadkill also put the caracaras at risk of becoming roadkill themselves.

While the Crested Caracara is sometimes referred to as a Mexican Eagle, it is a member of the Falcon family, albeit in the much slower genus Caracara. The long-legged, sharp-beaked bird of prey is capable of chasing down its quarry and spends much of its time hunting on the ground. They are opportunistic and will feed on reptiles, small mammals and invertebrates but the preference in the prairielands is easy game, aka dead stuff.

The Crested Caracara is distinctly different in appearance from its undertaker associates. They look like a small Bald Eagle with a toupee. Their white neck and flight feathers against a body of brown set them apart from the mostly black vultures. Caracaras also have a stout orange beak with a blue tip. I often see them perched on fence posts, snags or in Slash Pines when not feeding on roadkill. The kill sites are always dynamic with an obvious pecking order among vultures and caracaras. Regardless of the number of vultures, a pair of caracaras will always dominate. It helps to be a Falcon and makes the job that much easier of an undertaking.

Recyclers of Rot

I was in a dumpster the other night. Each time a car would go by I would duck to avoid being spotted. I’d like to think friends would understand but strangers might pass by and judge. So I persisted in playing dumpster prairie dog until my goal was achieved.

This whole situation had me thinking of vultures. If one man’s trash is another man’s treasure the same logic might apply to the reviled and repulsive roadkill warriors who eat what few others will. Carrion. Dead stuff. Give them credit, the fresher the better and while eagles are proactive in shortening the lifespan of a fish and panthers are quick to change the expiration date of deer, vultures are more patient and more likely to let time or tires lay out a dinner spread.

Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) have an incredible sense of smell which is rare among birds. They also use excellent vision to spot a potential meal. While the notion of “the more rotten the better” has been dispelled, it’s the fresh carcass or the foul funk of a day old corpse that draws the Turkey Vulture in. Leave it for too long and leftovers will cause indigestion. Even vultures have their limits.

Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus) rely entirely on their vision, circling on rising thermals like Turkey Vultures do to spot prey. But they also steal signs from Turkey Vultures, watching their cousins for clues to whereabouts of dead things and often gang up to steal a meal from the more timid red-headed scavengers.

Regardless of their non-lethal approach to feeding, Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures get a bad rap and despite the global movement to “go green,” the recyclers of rot are seen as nothing more than a roadside possum-lovin’ scavenger with a penchant for puking when threatened – which brings me back to my dumpster.

I shouldn’t be ashamed. I’m moving in a few days and I need boxes. Someone suggested I just buy fresh boxes, but why pay for something I can get for free? And like the vultures, I’m recycling. There’s gold in them there dumpsters! It just happens my treasure was in the trash.