caracara

[ kahr-uh-kahr-uh, kar-uh-kar-uh ]

noun
  1. any of certain long-legged birds of prey of the falcon family, of the southern U.S. and Central and South America that feed on carrion.

Origin of caracara

1
1830–40; <Spanish or Portuguese <Tupi; imitative of its cry

Words Nearby caracara

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use caracara in a sentence

  • As science had shunned Hudson, so it shunned the caracara branch of family Falconidae.

  • The flight of the caracara is heavy and slow, and it is generally an inactive, tame, and cowardly bird.

    The Western World | W.H.G. Kingston
  • It will frequently wait, as does the caracara, at the mouth of a rabbit-hole, and seize on the animal when it comes out.

    The Western World | W.H.G. Kingston
  • The caracara takes little notice, except by bobbing its head.

    The Western World | W.H.G. Kingston
  • They are usually known in localities where they are found, as caracara Eagles.

    Bird Guide | Chester A. Reed
  • The caracara lays two eggs; the nest is generally placed on the ground among brushwood.

    Reptiles and Birds | Louis Figuier

British Dictionary definitions for caracara

caracara

/ (ˌkɑːrəˈkɑːrə) /


noun
  1. any of various large carrion-eating diurnal birds of prey of the genera Caracara, Polyborus, etc, of S North, Central, and South America, having long legs and naked faces: family Falconidae (falcons)

Origin of caracara

1
C19: from Spanish or Portuguese, from Tupi; of imitative origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012