Nesting observations of the Yellow-Headed caracara in the cerrado region of Brazil

Although the Yellow-headed Caracara (Milvago chimachima) is widely distributed, common birds in South America, little is known concerning their breeding biology. Bierregaard (in del Hoyo et al. 1994) conducted an excellent review of known data, but details are based on fragmented observations, are incomplete, and often inferential (Mader 1981, del Hoyo et al. 1994). It is known that Yellow-headed Caracaras typically lay 1-2 eggs per nest, and they use of stick nests, as well as hills (termite mounds?), as nesting sites (del Hoyo et al. 1994). While information on nest placement and structure is well known (greater than 15 reported), information on the breeding behavior to be almost completely unknown (Bierregaard 1995).

Carl A. Johansson, Eric T. Linder, Clayton M. White & Jose Carlos Lyra Fleury, ORNITOLOGIA NEOTROPICAL 10: 211-215