Raptors display a variety of flight maneuvers that ultimately benefit their survival and fitness. For example, falcons dive vertically with wings folded to pursue their prey to deliver a powerful killing blow (White et al. 2002), kites hover in flight to scan the ground for prey (Dunk 1995), and various raptors perform aerial cartwheeling, driven primarily by territorial behavior (Simmons and Mendelsohn 1993, Raimilla et al. 2015). Aerial cartwheeling involves a pair of raptors in flight, interlocking their feet and freefalling toward the ground while revolving around a common axis (Simmons and Mendelsohn 1993). Other aerial maneuver behaviors occur that are less well known. Here, we describe an aerial behavior of a caracara that we observed, propose a term that can be used to describe this behavior, and suggest interpretations for its use and context.

On 1 June 2015 at 0740...

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