Caracaras are birds of prey occur in South and Central America, just reaching the southern United States, extending as far north as the states of Arizona, Texas, and Florida in the United States.
The most southern species (the Striated Caracara) inhabits the Falkland Islands and Tierra del Fuego, just off the coast of the southernmost tip of South America.
The species are:
- Genus Daptrius
- D. ater Vieillot, 1816 – Black Caracara
- Genus Ibycter
- I. americanus Boddaert, 1783 – Red-throated Caracara (formerly in Daptrius)
- Genus Phalcoboenus
- P. carunculatus Des Murs, 1853 – Carunculated CaracaraP. megalopterus Meyen, 1834 – Mountain CaracaraP. albogularis Gould, 1837 – White-throated CaracaraP. australis Gmelin, 1788 – Striated Caracara
- Genus Caracara Merrem, 1826
- C. cheriway Jacquin, 1784 – Northern (or Crested) CaracaraC. plancus Miller, 1777 – Southern CaracaraC. lutosa Ridgway, 1876 – Guadalupe Caracara (Extinct, 1903)
- Genus Milvago
- M. chimachima Vieillot, 1816 – Yellow-headed CaracaraM. chimango Vieillot, 1816 – Chimango Caracara
