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Southern crested caracaras were once condered a race of the the more northern crested caracara but are now thought to be a distinct species. All caracaras are adaptable birds with broad diets; this species can be an aggressive predator (next paragraph) but also is perfectly willing to scavenge. Many of the pictures here are of a bird feeding on of a road-killed hare in Parque Nacional Torres del Paine in south Chile; the bird in the grassy field was near Valdivia. The bird at the bottom of the page with the streaked (rather than barred) breast is a juvenile; it was photographed near Puerto Natales, a bit south of Torres del Paine.
The rather poor image (a film scan) at the bottom left of the page shows a pair of black-necked swans trying to defend their group of young cygnets against a pair of southern crested caracaras. Unfortunately for the swans, the caracaras were very aggressive and clever, and one by one they picked off all six of the cygnets, carrying them off to their nest and then hurrying back for more. This photo was taken partway through the series of attacks, and it shows one of the swans hissing and threatening the caracaras as the remaining cygnets try to keep as close as they can to their desperate parent.
Pictures of the simialr -- and formerly conspecific -- crested caracara can be found here.
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