[3] Caracaras are principally birds of South and Central America, just reaching the southern United States.

Unlike the Falco falcons in the same family, the birds in the five relevant genera are not fast-flying aerial hunters, but are comparatively slow and are often scavengers (a notable exception being the red-throated caracara).

[4] In the Southern Hemisphere, the striated caracara inhabits the Falkland Islands and Tierra del Fuego, just off the coast of the southernmost tip of South America.

Whilst recognizing "three major, deep divisions in the Falconidae",[7] the South American Classification Committee (SACC) of the American Ornithologists' Union voted[8] in 2007 to recognize two subfamilies: Herpetotherinae containing the forest falcons; and Falconinae containing the caracaras and true falcons.

Based on recent research in molecular genetics,[9] John Boyd[10] places the spot-winged falconet (Spiziapteryx) in Caracarinae, and the forest falcons in Herpetotherinae.