Yellow-headed Caracara

A smaller, pale-headed caracara often seen riding on the backs of cattle, picking off ticks and insects stirred up by grazing livestock. Adaptable and opportunistic, it has expanded its range alongside cattle ranching across South America.

Photographed perched in open country, showing the pale yellowish head and bare facial skin that separate it from its larger, dark-capped relative, the Crested Caracara.