On the morning of 12 July 2017, after our boat tour of the Rio Frio, we loaded our bus at the Hotel de Campo. We drove to the the Laguna del Lagarto Lodge. The drive did not look far on the map, but the last 20 kilometers traversed a horrendously maintained road. This Laughing Falcon is one of the first birds we observed.
Laughing Falcons are found in forests from northern Mexico south to Paraguay. The falcons are especially attracted to forest edges. The main component of their diet is snakes, which often warm themselves at the forest edge. They consume a wide variety of snakes, even eat pit vipers and coral snakes (Barkley 2014). They are also known to hunt rodents, birds, fish, and bats.
These falcons hunt from exposed perches, from where they look for snakes. They usually drop on their prey. Sometimes they approach snakes on the ground. When hunting on the ground, the birds spread their wings, presumably trying to distract the snakes (Barkley 2014).
Laughing Falcons are found in forests from northern Mexico south to Paraguay. The falcons are especially attracted to forest edges. The main component of their diet is snakes, which often warm themselves at the forest edge. They consume a wide variety of snakes, even eat pit vipers and coral snakes (Barkley 2014). They are also known to hunt rodents, birds, fish, and bats.
These falcons hunt from exposed perches, from where they look for snakes. They usually drop on their prey. Sometimes they approach snakes on the ground. When hunting on the ground, the birds spread their wings, presumably trying to distract the snakes (Barkley 2014).
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