First record of the Chimango caracara (Milvago chimango) using shrimp as prey

LOPEZ-IDIÁQUEZ, D.; CANAL, D.; CALLEJA, I.; FRADE, A.; SARASOLA, J.H.

JOURNAL OF RAPTOR RESEARCH

RAPTOR RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC

Lugar: Lawrence, Kansas; Año: 2019 vol. 53 p. 436 - 437

0892-1016

The Chimango Caracara (Milvago chimango; hereafter, chimango) is one of the most common raptors in southern South America (White et al. 1994). Due to its high ecological plasticity, the species occupies a wide variety of habitats frommountainous to coastal areas. It typically inhabits open areas such as grassy Andean foothills, heathlands, shrub-steppes, forestedges,andagricultural lands suchas farms andpastures (Fraga and Salvador 1986, Morrison and Phillips 2000).Chimangos also inhabit urban and peri-urban areas where they take advantage of these human-dominated environments to find nesting sites or food (Fraga and Salvador 1986, Bellocq et al. 2008, Solaro and Sarasola 2015). In these environments, they often nest near anthropogenic disturbances such as roads, houses, or buildings (Morrison and Phillips 2000, Solaro and Sarasola 2015, 2018). The Chimango Caracara has been described as a dietary generalist andopportunist; the species preys on insects, mammals, birds, fish, and crabs (Ya´ ?nez et al. 1982, Biondi et al. 2005, Sazima andOlmos 2009). In addition, chimangos also regularly feed on carrion fromdifferent locations, such as along roads or at landfills (Biondi et al. 2005). Here, we report the first observation of a chimango using shrimp (Order Decapoda) as prey.