Caracara: the largest falcons refuse to fly and actively increase their intelligence (10 photos)

Customer: Hello, is this Biosphere Support? My falcon is broken! My caracara barely flies and is acting very strange. Can you help me?





Those born to crawl cannot fly. But those born to fly can become excellent runners! Such is the injustice of life.

Support: Hello, this is not a bug, we have updated the caracara software so that they continue to meet the requirements of the ever-changing biosphere. If you have any problems, please let us know and we will figure out what they are related to together.

K: I don't want to deal with such problems! If you can't roll back the update, replace my caracara!

TP: Unfortunately, this is impossible. All caracaras on the planet have been updated: both in South and North America. This even affected isolated colonies on Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands. It is currently impossible to find an old version of the caracara for any of the 3 genera of birds.



The most common type of caracara: crested caracara (common).

K: Then explain to me why you turned the second largest falcon in the world into some kind of ground-running chicken! What kind of nonsense is this?

TP: We understand your concern about this decision, but it was made after a scrupulous analysis of the physical component of the organism. Long legs with developed claws allow caracaras to move quickly across the pampas and shrub steppes where they live. And their significant body mass (up to 1.6 kilograms) and large beak allow them to remain significant predators of South American ecosystems. In addition, they are still capable of flight.





He's just jealous of my legs, that's why he's swearing!

K: Is that really flying? Other falcons are soaring - it's beautiful! And this crested miracle is now just scratching in a straight line. He doesn't even track down his prey!

TP: The new flight tactics allow the caracara to save a significant amount of energy. As is known, walking is much less expensive than flying. That's why birds currently take to the air for three reasons.

1. During the breeding season. The nest is built at the top of a tree for safety.

2. In case of danger from larger land predators.

3. To fly to the nearest dump, carrion or any other available source of calories.

In all three cases, a short straight flight is more rational than hovering in circles for several hours.



And they also fly to hit on the ladies!

K: What?! You turned beautiful falcons into some kind of lousy scavengers? Who makes decisions about updates there? Fire this idiot!!!

TP: Look at it this way: your caracara is now very easy to feed. It can eat not only garbage and carrion, but also any small vertebrates, including fish and amphibians. In addition, the new update adds the ability to dig in the ground and sand to find insects and reptile eggs. And the new digestion regulation system allows birds to even eat fruit. Your favorite falcon is now able to get food almost anywhere, despite the anthropogenic impact on the biosphere!



Caracara evaluates whether it can eat a capybara.

K: Well, why? Why does the caracara need all this energy saving and extra sources of calories? Eagles feel great with and without gyrfalcons, which means my bird is dying of starvation. What nonsense?

TP: All the freed up processing power, as well as all the extra energy, were directed to developing the caracara's intelligence. Our research shows that the speed of learning of birds is now no less than that of crows or parrots! Caracaras solve spatial puzzles better than any other birds of prey and remember their solutions even a year after the last training!



One day, southern caracaras were given yellow pyramids. And they had great fun with the new toys.



Even a year after their last training, caracaras solve puzzles 4 times faster than inexperienced birds!

K: This is all very cool, but why does a goat need a button accordion? There is no point in making a predator so smart! It was a wonderful bird of prey, and you ruined it!

TP: The goal of the latest update is to increase the species' adaptability to a variety of conditions, including the effects of human anthropogenic influence. And we have achieved our goal: the bird can obtain food using various hunting tactics, including the use of improvised tools, theft, and scavenging.



Caracaras also know how to profit from fires. They move after the fire front and eat wounded and dead animals.

TP: In addition, developed intelligence allows caracaras to maintain friendly communication! Now your falcon is more tolerant of its relatives and other bird species. For example, the black vulture is an ally of your falcon. Birds help each other: the caracara warns the vulture of danger with a loud cry, and the vulture helps the caracara find food with its keen sense of smell. This means that your bird's chances of survival increase even more!



Photographers captured a very cute scene: a black vulture and a caracara grooming each other. The birds did this for three minutes. It is believed that this type of communication helps to establish relationships between the two species so that they can cooperate even more successfully.

K: Oh, that... makes sense. Perhaps I was hasty when I called the last update stupid and pointless. I apologize. Probably the caracaras are working as they should.

TP: It's nice to know that we were able to get our point across to you! Especially since it's supported by the numbers. At the moment, the caracara population is stable and large, the species is not in danger of extinction!



Wait, who was talking in my head all this time?