''Phalcoboenus'' is a small

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of caracara in the family

Falconidae The falcons and caracaras are around 65 species of Diurnality, diurnal birds of prey that make up the family Falconidae (representing all extant species in the order (biology), order Falconiformes). The family likely originated in South America d ...

. They are found in barren, open

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s in the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

and the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

. The four extant species are almost entirely

allopatric Allopatric speciation () – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from ...

. The adults are distinctive, with bare yellow, orange or red facial skin and

cere The beak, bill, or Rostrum (anatomy), rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for pecking, wikt:grasp#Verb, grasping, and holding (in wikt:probe ...

, and a black

plumage Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...

with variable amounts of white. Juveniles are overall brown with pale pinkish-grey facial skin and cere. They are highly opportunistic and typically seen walking on the ground, where they will feed on

carrion Carrion (), also known as a carcass, is the decaying flesh of dead animals. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures ...

and virtually any small animal they can catch. The name, meaning "walking falcon", is derived from Greek: '' (hawk, falcon) and '' (I go, I walk). The original lithograph print produced for

Alcide d'Orbigny Alcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d'Orbigny (6 September 1802 – 30 June 1857) was a French naturalist who made major contributions in many areas, including zoology (including malacology), palaeontology, geology, archaeology and anthropol ...

is captioned "Phalcobœnus montanus" with an o-e ligature,E. Traviés (pinx't), François (sculp.), Levrault (editeur)
"Phalcobœnus montanus, P. … junior, et l'œufs de Polyborus chimango"
in but his later text has "Phalcobænus montanus" with a-e ligature in "Phalcobaenus".

Species

There are four extant and one extinct species. The extant species are: The extinct species is ''Phalcoboenus napieri'' which is known from subfossil remains unearthed in peat deposits from the Falkland Islands, described in 2016 and named for Roddy Napier, the owner of

West Point Island West Point Island (originally known as Albatross Island; ) is one of the Falkland Islands, lying in the north-west corner of the archipelago. It has an area of and boasts some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in the Falklands. The island is ...

in the Falklands.Mark P. Adams; Robin W. Woods (2016). "Mid-Holocene Falkland Islands bird bones from a peat deposit, including a new species of caracara". Emu.

References

* Jaramillo, Alvaro, Burke, Peter, & Beadle, David (2003). ''Birds of Chile.'' Christopher Helm, London. . Birds of prey {{Falconiformes-stub