It feeds on a variety of animals, insects, and eggs including rabbits, squirrels, skunks, frogs, snakes, lizards, turtles, alligator young, fish, large insects, and other birds (in addition to eating their own eggs and young!).
The species unique to the Guadalupe Islands in Mexico went extinct in the 1900s. In parts of the US there are low numbers due to hunting and habitat destruction. As of now, it is of low concern for extinction in South America.
