Chimango Caracaras (Milvago chimango) nesting on natural and human-made substrates in urban centers in Argentina

MARÍA SOLEDAD LIÉBANA; MIGUEL ÁNGEL SANTILLÁN; CLAUDINA SOLARO; JORGE RAÚL GRACIA

JOURNAL OF RAPTOR RESEARCH

RAPTOR RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC

Lugar: Lawrence, Kansas; Año: 2024 vol. 58 p. 1 - 4

0892-1016

Urban areas provide some birds with varied resources such as food and nest sites that they canexploit to fulfill their ecological requirements (Solaro 2018, Leveau et al. 2022). However, living inurban environments involves a tradeoff between benefits and any associated costs that may affect their survival, such as exposure to pollution and risk of collision with buildings and vehicles (Hager 2009, Dwyer et al. 2018, Solaro 2018). The use of urban resources by raptors has been increasing in recent decades, and this topic has received a growing scientific interest (Donázar et al. 2016, Boal and Dykstra 2018). Blair (1996) proposed a classification for avian species according to how they respond to urbanization: “avoiders,” “adapters,” or “exploiters.” Among raptors, examples of urban avoiders are some large hawks such as the Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis), and falcons with large home-range requirements, for example Prairie Falcons (Falco mexicanus; Berry et al. 1998, Solaro 2018). Urban adapters tend to be the small- to medium-sized raptors, for example, Cooper’s Hawks (Accipiter cooperii) and Barred Owls (Strix varia; Rullman and Marzluff 2014, Boal 2018), or generalists such as the Chimango Caracara (Milvago chimango), which can reach high abundances in areas with moderate levels of urbanization (Solaro 2018).