Record of Nesting and Fledgling Depredation on Crested Caracara (Caracara cheriway) in its Peri-Urban Habitat in the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area, West-Central Mexico

Abstract

Urban settings represent a challenge to most bird species, although some raptors seem to adjust to new urban environments. The Crested Caracara (Caracara cheriway) is known as an urban-tolerant species. Though caracaras are resident in west-central Mexico, there is no information about the species' distribution, reproduction, and nesting within a metropolis such as Guadalajara. This species was using the peri-urban setting of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area (GMA) to hunt, breed, construct its nests, and care for juveniles. To our knowledge, this is the first reported record of it breeding in a peri-urban setting in Mexico. On 15 February 2019, we found the remains of a caracara fledgling in a private vacant lot north of the GMA. The body had injuries on its back between the wings and no remaining muscle, which could be attributed to predation by another raptor. We later located a caracara nest in a eucalyptus tree (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) in the same private vacant lot, within 30 m of where the carcass was found. The nest was a platform made of sticks, resting on the bifurcation between the tree trunk and one of its branches, 23.8 m high. The eucalyptus tree measured 37.4 m in height and 50 cm in diameter, with a 10.7-m2 canopy cover. Twenty-four days later, we saw another juvenile perched near the parents. That was the last time we saw it. The following year, on 15 March 2020, we saw 2 adult caracaras using the same nest and feeding a juvenile.