Southern screamer
| Southern screamer | |
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| File:Southern screamer (Chauna torquata).JPG | |
| in the Pantanal, Brazil | |
| Scientific classification | |
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C. torquata
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| Binomial name | |
| Chauna torquata Oken, 1816
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| File:Southern Screamer.png | |
| Distribution map | |
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The southern screamer (Chauna torquata), also known as the crested screamer, belongs to the order Anseriformes. It is found in southeastern Peru, northern Bolivia, Paraguay, southern Brazil, Uruguay and northern Argentina.[2] Its diet consists of plants stems, seeds, leaves, and, rarely, small animals.
Description
The southern screamer averages 81–95 cm (32–37 in) long and weighs 3–5 kg (6.6–11.0 lb).[3] They are the heaviest, although not necessarily the longest, of the three screamers.[4] The wingspan is around 170 cm (67 in).[5] Among standard measurements, the wing chord measures 54 cm (21 in), the tail 23.2 cm (9.1 in), the culmen 4.5 cm (1.8 in) and the long tarsus 11 cm (4.3 in).[6] It lives in tropical and sub-tropical swamps, estuaries and watersides.
Behaviour and ecology
The southern screamer is a good swimmer, having partially webbed feet, but prefers to move on the ground. The bony spurs on its wings are used for protection against rival screamers and other enemies. Although it is non-migratory, it is an excellent flier. It lives in large flocks, feeding on the ground in grasslands and cultivated fields until nesting season, when birds pair off.[7]
Breeding
The southern screamer establishes monogamous relationships that last its lifetime, estimated to be 15 years. Courtship involves loud calling by both sexes, which can be heard up to two miles away.[7] For the nest the couple makes a big platform of reeds, straws, and other aquatic plants in an inaccessible place near water. The female lays between two and seven white eggs. The couple share incubation, which takes 43 to 46 days. Chicks leave the nest as soon as they hatch, but the parents care for them for several weeks. The fledging period takes 8 to 14 weeks.
Gallery
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.. |
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Chauna torquata -Iguazu Bird Park, Brazil -nest-8a.jpg
On a nest at Iguazu Bird Park, Brazil
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Southern Screamer RWD9.jpg
Sitting on 2 eggs.
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Chauna torquata -Santa Vitoria do Palmar, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil -adult and chicks-8.jpg
Family in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
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Young Southern Screamer.JPG
Chicks
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Crested screamer arp.jpg
There are two color phases, light and dark.[7]
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Head
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Chauna torquata -Artis Zoo, Netherlands-8a.jpg
At Artis Zoo, Netherlands
See also
- Horned screamer, Anhima cornuta
- Northern screamer or Black-necked screamer, Chauna chavaria
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Clements, James, (2007) The Clements Checklist of the Birds of the World, Cornell University Press, Ithaca
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ del Hoyo, Elliott & Sargatal. Handbook of Birds of the World, Volume 1 Ostrich to Ducks. ISBN 84-87334-10-5
- ↑ Screamer (2011).
- ↑ of Birds in the British Museum
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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