Red-legged seriema | |
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NearGoiânia in centralBrazil | |
Scientific classification![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Cariamiformes |
Family: | Cariamidae |
Genus: | Cariama Brisson, 1760 |
Species: | C. cristata |
Binomial name | |
Cariama cristata (Linnaeus, 1766) | |
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Synonyms | |
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Thered-legged seriema/sɛriˈiːmə/ (Cariama cristata), also known as thecrested cariama/kæriˈɑːmə/ andcrested seriema, is a mostly predatory terrestrialbird in the seriemafamily (Cariamidae), included in theGruiformes in the oldpolyphyletic circumscription but recently placed in a distinctorder:Cariamiformes (along with three extinct families).
The red-legged seriema is widely distributed inSouth America, occurring in central and easternBrazil through easternBolivia andParaguay toUruguay and centralArgentina (south toLa Pampa).[2]
Like theblack-legged seriema,farmers often use them as guard animals to protectpoultry frompredators and sometimes human intruders.[3]
The red-legged seriema wasdescribed in 1766 by the Swedish naturalistCarl Linnaeus in thetwelfth edition of hisSystema Naturae. He coined thebinomial namePalamedea cristata.[4] The red-legged seriema is now the only species placed in thegenusCariama that was introduced by the French zoologistMathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760.[5][6] Thespecific epithetcristata isLatin for "crested", "plumed" or "tufted".[7] The German naturalistGeorg Marcgrave used the Latin wordCariama for the red-legged seriema in hisHistoria naturalis Brasiliae, which was published in 1648.[8]
The name is derived from thePortuguese wordseriema, which comes from aTupi word corresponding toçariama, derived from the wordsçaria (crest) andam (raised).[9][7]
The red-legged seriema is around 75 to 90 centimetres (30 to 35 in) long and weighs about 1.5 to 2.2 kilograms (3.3 to 4.9 lb),[2] with long legs, necks, and tails. The males are slightly larger than females. It has a greyish-brown plumage, finely barred andvermiculated with dark brown and black; pale brown on the head, neck, and breast; white on belly. The long, broad outer tail has a subterminal black band and a white tip. It has a reddish beak and very long, salmon-coloured legs. The eyes are yellow.[10][2] Soft feathers emerge from the base of the bill to form a distinctive fan-shapedcrest.[11]
Many other characteristics are shared with theblack-legged seriema (Chunga burmeisteri), the only other living member of itsfamily. Some of these traits are discussed in theCariamidae article.
The red-legged seriema inhabits most of central and easternBrazil,Paraguay, eastern and southeasternBolivia,Uruguay, and northeasternArgentina. It is found at elevations up to 6,600 feet (2,000 m).[12]
The red-legged seriema prefers grassland habitat to any other. Though it likes to inhabit lush meadows near rivers, it will not readily move intowetlands orcrop fields.[13] It frequents semi-open and fairly dry areas such as thorny scrub and semi-arid woodland regions, savannas and ranchlands, and also hilly grasslands near wooded areas. This species is very typical inCaatinga,Cerrado andChaco.[12]
Seriemas are wary, territorial, and diurnal birds.[14][11] Generally, the red-legged seriema is sedentary, although there are reports of temperature-related migrations.[15] It is typically seen singly or in pairs, but occasionally in groups of up to four individuals, apparently families. It usually walks on the ground and can easily run faster than a human in its habitat. It will flee a car on foot at speeds up to 25 km/h (15 mph) before flying.[16]
Territorial defense may involve agonistic confrontation between individuals, initially characterized by full vocalization duets followed by short runs and flights towards intruders, alternated with claws and beak attacks.[17] In one conflict between two birds, they jumped at each other feet-first, keeping their balance by flapping.[16][18]
This species typically nests on low trees or bushes,[11] so that adults are able to reach the nest from the ground by short hops or flutters rather than by flying.[19]
Red-legged seriemas demonstrate an unusual way of hunting vertebrate prey; they pick the prey up with their beak and repeatedly throw it at the ground until it is stunned or dead.[20]
Full vocalization by the seriema is mainly done at dawn and to a lesser extent, during at dusk. It can also occur irregularly at other times of day.[2]
Thesong has a quality described as "a cross between 'the serrated bark of a young dog and the clucking of turkeys'".[21] At the loudest part of the song, the bird has its neck bent so its head is touching its back. Both members of a pair as well as young down to the age of two weeks sing; often one member of a family starts a song just as another finishes, or two sing simultaneously. The song can be heard several kilometers away; inEmas National Park, Brazil, in 1981–1982, observers often heard four red-legged seriemas or groups singing at once.[16]
The full song consists of three sections:
Their song was notably sampled byBoards of Canada on their track "Happy Cycling" on their debut albumMusic Has the Right to Children, which was taken from theVangelis albumLa Fête Sauvage.
Red-legged seriemas are omnivorous, probably eating prey in response to its abundance.[16] Diets mainly consist ofarthropods (such asgrasshoppers,beetles,ants andspiders),insectlarvae,lizards,amphibians,snakes,rodents and other small vertebrates; occasionally,corn (Zea) grains and other crops, wild fruits and tree gum. In captivity, and probably even in the wild, eggs and chicks of other bird species are also eaten.[2]
Seriemas typically feed alone or in pairs, seasonally in small family groups; they forage by walking steadily, looking for food on the ground or in low vegetation. Foraging birds sometimes remain obscured due to cryptic plumage colours.[2] It grabs small vertebrates in its beak and beats them against the ground before dismembering them with its beak and claws.
During a long term study in Arcos municipality,Minas Gerais, Brazil, a research team placed a camera trap at one of 44 seriema nests in their study area. On 29 September 2018 it recorded a 20 minute video of an adult killing one of three nestlings, eating part of it, and allowing the other two nestlings to feed on the carcass. It was the first documented parental infanticide and cannibalism by the species in the wild though it had been observed in a captive individual. The researchers note that very few red-legged seriema broods fledge three young and speculate that the third nestling serves as reserve food for the other two in times of stress.[22]
Seriemas are monogamous. In the wild, the breeding season correlates to the rainy months of February to July in the northeast of Brazil, September to January in central Brazil and November to December in Argentina.[23]
During the breeding season, the male, more intimidating or forcing himself on the female, spreads out his wings laterally, moving them forward and displaying the contrasting arrangement of the flight feathers, a pattern similar to that of certain birds of prey, such as the Africansecretarybird (Sagittarius serpentarius).[14] The display is often followed by a strut in front of the female, with the head pointing and the crest lifted. The male also gives food (from the normal diet) to the female. Both birds call, thereby reinforcing the bond between them as well as establishing the territories of the pair. Copulation takes place on the ground.[15]
Typically, 2–3 white, softly spotted eggs are laid. Incubation is done by both sexes, lasting 24–30 days. The chicks are coated with long, light brown feathers and are fed by both parents; initially, they weigh around 40–60 g (1.4–2.1 oz). At around 14 days of age, the chicks are able to leave their nests. At this time, the chick is able to make a call similar to the adult vocalization, although very faint,[23] to attract the parents' attention to itself.[14] Adult plumage is obtained in 4–5 months.[2]