Northern Crested Caracara

Not far outside the "bustling" center of San Pedro, we found this handsome fellow sitting atop one the multitude of cardon cactus lining the roadway. This is the Northern Crested Caracara.



From Wikipedia we learn that this is a most unusual bird of prey:

The northern caracara is a carnivorous scavenger that mainly feeds on carrion, but does occasionally eat fruit. The live prey they do catch is usually immobile, injured, incapacitated or young. Prey species can include small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish, crabs, insects, their larvae, earthworms, shellfish and young birds. Bird species that are culled can range from large, colonial nesting birds such as storks and herons to small passerines. Reptiles taken often including snakes, lizards and small freshwater turtles. This species, along with other caracaras, is one of few raptors that hunts on foot, often turning over branches and cow dung to reach food. In addition to hunting its own food on the ground, the northern caracara will steal from other birds, including vultures, buteos, pelicans, ibises and spoonbills. Because they stay low to the ground even when flying, they often beat Cathartes vultures to carrion and can aggressively displace single vultures of most species from small carcasses. They will occasionally follow trains or automobiles to fetch food that falls off.^[12]

So here we have a top of the food chain predator sitting on top of the largest cactus out in the noonday sun.