Southern Screamer
Chauna torquata
Huge and odd-looking gray gooselike species with long red legs. Note the wispy crest on the back of the head, the bare red face, and a broad dark collar with a thin white collar above it. In flight shows white underwings. Occurs in wetlands, including marshes and lakes where it may gather in big flocks. Has a very loud and far-carrying call, usually delivered in a duet.
Identification
The southern screamer is one of the largest birds of southern South America at 83 to 90 cm (33 to 35 in) long and weighing about 4.4 kg (9.7 lb). Their flat wing measures 50 to 57 cm (20 to 22 in), their tail 22 to 26 cm (8.7 to 10.2 in), and their culmen 4.0 to 5.4 cm (1.6 to 2.1 in). They are stout bodied with a disproportionately small head and a "chicken-like" grayish brown bill. The sexes have the same plumage. Their head and upperparts are gray with a velvety black "collar" around the base of the neck. Their wings and tail are dusky and the wing has two sharp spurs at its manus. The front of their neck, their breast, and their sides are pale gray faintly mottled and streaked with white. Their belly is unmarked pale gray or white. Their legs and feet are rosy.
Taxonomy
The southern screamer shares genus Chauna with the northern screamer (C. chavaria). One other species, the horned screamer (Anhima cornuta) is also in family Anhimidae. The southern screamer is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Chauna torquata
- Authority
- (Oken, 1816)
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anhimidae
- Genus
- Chauna
Range and habitat
The southern screamer is found from the eastern half of Bolivia south into Argentina as far as Buenos Aires Province and east through Paraguay into southwestern Brazil and Uruguay. It has also been documented as a vagrant in southeastern Peru. It inhabits tropical and subtropical wetlands including lakes, marshes, and flooded meadows with scattered trees.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The southern screamer is generally considered to be non-migratory. However, seasonal changes in the numbers present in coastal and inland parts of Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul suggest local movements between them.<p>The southern screamer is a good swimmer but prefers to move on the ground. It is an excellent flier and soarer. <p>The southern screamer feeds on the leaves, stems, and seeds of aquatic plants and also on some crops. They usually graze like geese but have been seen digging for food. Flocks of up to about 100 forage together in the non-breeding season.<p>The southern screamer forms long-term pair bonds that in some cases last for life. Males and females court with mutual preening and duet calling. They build a large nest of sticks and reeds near shallow water and often nest in about the same location for several years. The typical clutch size is three to five eggs but can be up to seven; eggs are laid in October and November. Both parents incubate the eggs and care for the young. The incubation period is 43 to 46 days; fledging occurs eight to ten weeks after hatch and the young are independent after about 12 weeks.<p>The southern screamer's "loud, unmelodious, double-noted trumpet call" has been further described as "a low, throaty, almost barking, brief oh-WOOOW which also sounds sometimes as be-SERK." Female's calls are somewhat weaker and higher pitched than males'. Screamers call both in flight and when perched, and the call can be heard of up to 3 km (2 mi).
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Louisiana Waterthrush
Parkesia motacilla
Brown-and-white denizen of bubbling streams and brooks. Look for white underparts with dark streaks, light buffy wash on the rear flanks, and bold white eyebrow. Stays on or near the ground, constantly bobbing its rear end up and down. Males sometime perch up high to sing. A very early migrant: arrives on the breeding grounds in eastern North America before most other warblers have even dreamed of starting migration, and arrives back on the wintering grounds as early as July or August. During the breeding season, favors fast-moving streams with lots of rocks to hop on. In the northern parts of its range, often in steep hemlock-lined ravines. Winters primarily in Middle America and the Caribbean, where it’s slightly less picky about habitat, and can be found around slower-moving water. Very similar to Northern Waterthrush, but whiter base color below, brighter pink legs, and broader white eyebrow. Also look for clean white throat (usually streaked on Northern). Best distinguished by song: several piercing clear whistles followed by a complex jumble of notes. Call note very similar to Northern: a loud, metallic chip.
Chilean Hawk
Astur chilensis
Uncommon and elusive hawk of Patagonian forest in central and southern Chile and neighboring parts of Argentina. Adult is mostly gray with darker crown and upperparts; underparts are mottled or barred with white and chestnut. Rufous thighs are often hidden from view. Immature is browner with thick, dark streaks on the underparts. No similar raptor is found in its range. Usually stays inside forest and almost never soars. Feeds mainly on birds. Formerly treated as a subspecies of Bicolored Hawk; the two species are not known to overlap.
Scarlet-rumped Tanager
Ramphocelus passerinii
Fairly common in humid tropical lowlands. Favors evergreen forest edges, plantations, and verdant second growth, such as areas along roadsides. Forages mainly at low to middle levels often in fairly noisy small groups. Male is unmistakable if seen clearly: velvety black with a blinding scarlet rump. Female is very different: note distinctive bluish-white bill, tawny rump, and grayish head. Formerly known as Cherrie's Tanager and Passerini's Tanager.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.