This portrait of a Crested Caracara caring for its chick at sunset in the nest is created by talented artist Amy Dilbeck. Amy Dilbeck is a self-taught artist with a love of nature. Most of her art celebrates the beauty to be found in the outdoors.

About: The Crested Caracara

The Crested Caracara looks like a hawk with its sharp beak and talons, behaves like a vulture, and is technically a large tropical black-and-white falcon. It is instantly recognizable standing tall on long yellow-orange legs with a sharp black cap set against a white neck and yellow-orange face. The Crested Caracara is a bird of open country and reaches only a few states in the southern U.S. It flies low on flat wings, and routinely walks on the ground.

Crested Caracaras are not shy or reclusive and are generally easy to spot in the open landscapes they inhabit. They frequently perch on the tallest tree or structure around and fly low over the ground with their wings held flat (a great way to distinguish them from nearby vultures).