Milvago
Encyclopedia
Milvago is a genus of bird of prey
in the Falconidae
family.
It contains the following species:
They are native to South America
, with M. chimachima just reaching to the Isthmus of Panama
and into Costa Rica
. Prehistorically the genus extended into the Caribbean
. There it might have become extinct as late as after the arrival of the first humans in the early Holocene
, though there is no evidence for this at present and they more likely disappeared already during the last glacial period.
Fossil record:
A paleosubspecies of the Yellow-headed Caracara
from Florida
is also known.
Bird of prey
Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
in the Falconidae
Falconidae
The falcons and caracaras are around 60 species of diurnal birds of prey that make up the family Falconidae. The family is divided into two subfamiles, Polyborinae, which includes the caracaras and forest falcons, and Falconinae, the falcons, kestrels and falconets.-Description:Falcons and...
family.
It contains the following species:
- Yellow-headed CaracaraYellow-headed CaracaraThe Yellow-headed Caracara is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It is found in tropical and subtropical South America and the southern portion of Central America...
, Milvago chimachima - Chimango CaracaraChimango CaracaraThe Chimango Caracara also known as Tiuque is a species of bird of prey in the Falconidae family.It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. It is a vagrant to the Falkland Islands...
, Milvago chimango
They are native to South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, with M. chimachima just reaching to the Isthmus of Panama
Isthmus of Panama
The Isthmus of Panama, also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country of Panama and the Panama Canal...
and into Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
. Prehistorically the genus extended into the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. There it might have become extinct as late as after the arrival of the first humans in the early Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
, though there is no evidence for this at present and they more likely disappeared already during the last glacial period.
Fossil record:
- Milvago brodkorbi (Late Pleistocene of PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
) - Milvago alexandri (Late Pleistocene of HispaniolaHispaniolaHispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
, West Indies) - Jamaican Caracara, ?Milvago sp. (Late Pleistocene/Holocene of JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, West Indies) - Cuban Caracara, Milvago carbo (Holocene of CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, West Indies)
A paleosubspecies of the Yellow-headed Caracara
Yellow-headed Caracara
The Yellow-headed Caracara is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It is found in tropical and subtropical South America and the southern portion of Central America...
from Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
is also known.