Todas as espécies › Seriemas
Seriemas | Cariamiformes
Seriema-achtigen | Seriemas | Chuñas
Large, slender ground birds with long legs, a long neck and tail and a short, powerful, slightly hooked bill, at the base of which stands an erect crest of stiff feathers. The order now holds two living species in a single family, but is the last representative of a far richer group that also included the extinct terror birds, large, cursorial predatory birds that lived in South America for millions of years. According to DNA studies their closest relatives are the falcons, parrots and passerines. Seriemas would much rather walk than fly and run off quickly when threatened. The second toe carries an enlarged, sickle-shaped claw that is held off the ground when walking. They eat insects, lizards, snakes, rodents and other small animals, and larger prey is seized in the bill and beaten against the ground or a stone. The loud, yelping call, often given as a duet, carries for kilometres over open country. The nest is a stick platform low in a tree or shrub, with two or three eggs. Both species occur in this guide: the Red-legged Seriema in the savannas, grasslands and open woodland of eastern Bolivia, and the Black-legged Seriema in the Chaco region.
Famílias desta ordem
- Seriemas | Cariamidae2 espéciesThe family has two species, both of which occur in this guide: the Red-legged Seriema, which lives in eastern Bolivia in open savanna, cerrado, dry scrub and grassland with scattered trees, and the Black-legged Seriema of the Chaco region. Seriemas are tall, slender ground birds of about ninety centimetres, with long legs, a long neck and a long tail. The Red-legged Seriema is greyish brown and finely streaked, with red legs, a red bill and an erect tuft of feathers at the base of the bill. They prefer walking and running to flying, though they roost in trees at night. The food consists of large insects, lizards, snakes, small rodents and sometimes plant material; larger prey is beaten against the ground or a stone with the bill. The second toe bears an enlarged claw that can be raised. Pairs give a loud, yelping duet, mainly in the morning, that carries for kilometres. The nest is a platform of sticks low in a tree or shrub, usually with two eggs. Seriemas are regarded as the last living relatives of the extinct predatory terror birds that once roamed South America.