Johnny Rook

This is the Striated Caracara – or as it is locally known – Johnny Rook!
There were a small group of these cheeky guys that would hang around our portacabin, ready to investigate us and our things. This one pictured is a juvenile. The adults have a paler beak and more orange/yellow skin around their mouths and yellow legs.

They are very inquisitive birds and have even been known to fly off with visitors’ photograph lens, when the visitor wasn’t looking. Fortunatley I kept a good hold on my equipment and we had to be careful not to keep our front door open otherwise they would wander in. They were a natural alarm clock in the morning as they would bounce around on the tin roof of the cabin.

Polly