Cariama cristata, Photo: Michael Lahanas Cladus: Eukaryota Name Cariama cristata Linnaeus, 1766 References * Linnaeus 1766. Syst.Nat.ed.12 p.232 Vernacular names ----------- The Red-legged Seriema or Crested Cariama (Cariama cristata) is a mostly predatory terrestrial bird in the seriema family (Cariamidae), included in the "Gruiformes" in the old paraphyletic circumscription, but increasingly placed in a distinct order Cariamae (along with three extinct families). The Red-legged Seriema inhabits grasslands from Brazil south of the Amazon to Uruguay and northern Argentina. The area over which it occurs is estimated at 5.9 million km², though the bird is not found everywhere in this region of course. The species is absent from the Mata Atlântica and planalto uplands along the coast of Brazil.[1] Description Many other characteristics are shared with the Black-legged Seriema (Chunga burmeisteri), the only other living member of its family. Some of these traits are discussed in the Cariamidae article. The song has a quality described as "a cross between 'the serrated bark of a young dog and the clucking of turkeys'"[3]. 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 kilometres away; in Emas National Park, Brazil, in 1981–1982, observers often heard four Red-legged Seriemas or groups singing at once.[4] The full song consists of three sections: 1. Repeated single notes at constant pitch (1,200 to 1,300 Hz) and duration but increasing tempo
In one conflict between two birds, they jumped at each other feet-first, keeping their balance by flapping.[4] This species nests on the ground[2] or in a bush or tree up to 3 m above the ground. In the latter case adults jump into the nest rather than fly[4]. Footnotes 1. ^ BLI (2008), Bencke (2007)
* Accordi, Iury Almeida & Barcellos, André (2006): Composição da avifauna em oito áreas úmidas da Bacia Hidrográfica do Lago Guaíba, Rio Grande do Sul [Bird composition and conservation in eight wetlands of the hidrographic basin of Guaíba lake, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil]. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 14(2): 101-115 [Portuguese with English abstract]. PDf fulltext Source: Wikispecies, Wikipedia: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License |
|