Summary
Phalcoboenus is a small genus of caracara in the family Falconidae. They are found in barren, open habitats in the Andes, Patagonia and the Falkland Islands. The four species are almost entirely allopatric. The adults are distinctive, with bare yellow, orange or red facial skin and cere, and a black plumage with variable amounts of white. Juveniles are overall brown with pale pinkish-grey facial skin and cere. They are highly opportunistic and typically seen walking on the ground, where they will feed on carrion and virtually any small animal they can catch.
| Phalcoboenus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Mountain caracara (Phalcoboenus megalopterus) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Falconiformes |
| Family: | Falconidae |
| Subfamily: | Polyborinae |
| Genus: | Phalcoboenus d'Orbigny, 1834 |
| Type species | |
| Phalcoboenus montanus[1] d'Orbigny, 1834
| |
| Species | |
|
Phalcoboenus carunculatus | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
|
Phalcobaenus d'Orbigny, 1835[3] | |
The name is derived from Greek: φάλκων 'phálcōn' (hawk, falcon) and βαίνω 'baínō' (I go, I walk).[5] The original lithograph print produced for Alcide d'Orbigny is captioned "Phalcobœnus montanus" with an o-e ligature,[6] but his later text has "Phalcobænus montanus" with a-e ligature in "Phalcobaenus".[5]
Species edit
There are four extant and one extinct species.
The extant species are:
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Phalcoboenus carunculatus | Carunculated caracara | Ecuador and Colombia. |
 |
Phalcoboenus megalopterus | Mountain caracara | Bolivia, Chile, Peru and Argentina |
 |
Phalcoboenus albogularis | White-throated caracara | southern Chile and Argentina |
 |
Phalcoboenus australis | Striated caracara | Tierra del Fuego, but is more abundant in the Falklands |
The extinct species is Phalcoboenus napieri which is known from subfossil remains unearthed in peat deposits from the Falkland Islands, described in 2016 and named for Roddy Napier, the owner of West Point Island in the Falklands.[7]
References edit
- ^ "Falconidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
- ^ Rees, Tony (2011). "Phalcoboenus d'Orbigny, 1834". Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- ^ Rees, Tony (2011). "Phalcobaenus d'Orbigny, 1835". Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- ^ Heine, Ferdinand; Reichenow, Anton (1890). Nomenclator Musei Heineani Ornithologici (Nomencl. Mus. Hein.): Verzeichniss der Vogel-Sammlung des Kgl. Oberamtmanns Ferdinand Heine auf Klostergut St. Burchard vor Halberstadt. Berlin: R. Friedländer & Sohn.
Genus Oronertus Heine (!) [Phalcobaenus Lafr. 1837]. / 1. megalopterus (Meyen) …
Page 272. Heine senior's collection contained three specimens of O./P. megalopterus from Patagonia and Bolivia, carunculatus is not catalogued. They list Ichthyoborus, Alectromorphuus (Buteogallus), Heterospizias, Hypomorphuus, Erythrocnema, Milvago, Polyborus, Daptrius, and Ibycter as sister genera under subfamily Polyborinae. - ^ a b d'Orbigny, Alcide Dessalines (1835). "Genré Phalcobène, Phalcobænis, Nob.". Voyage dans l'Amérique méridionale … tome 4 part 3, Oiseaux (in French). p. 50.
De φάλκων, faucon, et de βαίνω, je marche : Faucon marcheur.
- ^ E. Traviés (pinx't), François (sculp.), Levrault (editeur), "Phalcobœnus montanus, P. … junior, et l'œufs de Polyborus chimango" in d'Orbigny, Alcide Dessalines (1847). Voyage dans l'Amérique méridionale … tome 9, Atlas, Zoologie (in French). Oiseaux pl. 2.
- ^ Mark P. Adams; Robin W. Woods (2016). "Mid-Holocene Falkland Islands bird bones from a peat deposit, including a new species of caracara". Emu. doi:10.1071/MU15129
- Jaramillo, Alvaro, Burke, Peter, & Beadle, David (2003). Birds of Chile. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-4688-8.