Milvago
| Milvago | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chimango caracara (Milvago chimango) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Falconiformes |
| Family: | Falconidae |
| Subfamily: | Polyborinae |
| Genus: | Milvago Spix, 1824 |
Milvago is a genus of bird of prey in the Falconidae family.
It contains the following species:
- Yellow-headed caracara, Milvago chimachima
- Chimango caracara, Milvago chimango
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:
- Milvago brodkorbi (Late Pleistocene of Peru)
- Milvago alexandri (Late Pleistocene of Hispaniola, West Indies)
- Jamaican caracara, Milvago tellustris (Late Pleistocene/Holocene of Jamaica, West Indies)
- Cuban caracara, Milvago carbo (Holocene of Cuba, West Indies)
A paleosubspecies of the yellow-headed caracara from Florida is also known.
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