Red-legged Seriema
Rotfußseriema ( Cariama cristata )
The Rotfußseriema ( Cariama cristata ) is a species that occurs in the central South America.
Dissemination
It is in the central and eastern Brazil ( north up to the states of Tocantins and Piauí ) ( south to the north of the province of La Pampa ) spread in eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and in the central, northern Argentina.
Description
The Rotfußseriema reaches a body length of 75 to 90 cm with a weight of 1.5 kg. The beak is red, the bright yellow eyes contrasting with the blue, featherless skin around the eyes. The upper eyelid is provided with black lashes. The long legs are salmon colored. The flight feathers are banded black and white. The tail is long and wide; its feathers have white tips. Young birds show dark brown stripes on head, neck and back. Beak and legs are gray.
From the southern part of its range sympatric with it occurring Schwarzfußseriema ( Chunga burmeisteri ), the only other Seriemaart that Rotfußseriema can be well distinguished by its showy, upright tuft of feathers on the fore head.
Voice
The birds call, especially at dusk, sometimes at other times, even during the hot midday hours. Your reputation is a loud whine about how the kyup - kyup - kyup - kyup - kyupkyup - kyup - kypo -kyo kyo kyo ... sounds. It sometimes sounds like a slightly hysterical, gradually fading chatter and sometimes sounds for several minutes. Often the birds call with head thrown back from an elevated position.
Way of life
The Rotfußseriema occurs in open forests, thorn bush savanna, savannah and pastures in southern Brazil and Uruguay in hilly grasslands near forests and typical for their habitat biotopes Caatinga, Cerrado and Chaco ago. The altitudinal distribution ranges from almost sea level to 2000 meters in Argentina and southeastern Brazil. The birds are mostly sedentary and do not pull up on some localized features in the Gran Chaco. They feed mainly on arthropods; including grasshoppers, beetles, ants, insect larvae and spiders but also small vertebrates, such as amphibians, small lizards and snakes, chicks and young birds, and eggs, and small rodents. Corn, other grass seeds, fruits and tree sap additionally be incorporated depending on the seasons. Normally, the animals seek their food alone or in pairs during the breeding season in small family groups. Your food you are looking for on the ground or in low vegetation. Larger food animals are packed with the beak and beaten on the ground to kill them or held with the feet and torn with beak.
The breeding season varies according to the occurrence. In Northeast Brazil, the breeding season is in the months from February to July, in central Brazil, it ranges from September until January and in Argentina from November to December. The birds nest individually. The nest is built in forks of branches of small trees, usually one to five meters above the ground. It consists of branches and twigs and lined with leaves, mud or cow dung. The two to three eggs per clutch are white with a yellow- brownish or bright purple drawing. Incubation period is 24 to 30 days. Especially the female broods. The chicks are brownish, dark brown on the back and light brown and speckled on the ventral side. Your hair-like head feathers are remarkably long. They leave the nest after about 14 days and are still about a month fed by their parents ( captivity observations). The adult plumage they get to an age of about 4-5 months.
Endangering
The Rotfußseriema is classified by the IUCN as endangered not (Least Concern ). But it is widely nowhere common. In some areas it is hunted, destroyed other than beneficial insect, rodent and snakes, protected by farmers. In the southern part of its range the species suffers from urban sprawl and the destruction of their habitat, in the northern part they can expand their habitat as a result of human-induced deforestation.