Why Red-legged Seriemas
Scanning the plains of the Pantanal, Brazil, you spot movement through the grass. Your breath catches – something is making its way into a clearing, but you can’t quite tell what it is. You begin to catch glimpses of it as it makes its way forward – a feathered back here, an outspread wing there. Suddenly, a bird with surprisingly red and surprisingly long legs appears. It meanders slowly at first, winding its way around the brush and through the grass, bit by bit moving further into the open. Only then do you catch sight of the entire bird. Its stunning white-tipped tail, the bright blue skin patch around its eye, the fan-shaped crest of soft feathers that grow from the base of its bright red beak. There is no mistaking it – you are seeing a Red-legged Seriema, our Bird in Focus for this month!
Suddenly, it spreads its wings slightly and hops onto a fallen log. After a few moments, it raises its head and emits a series of loud, squeaky vocalizations in succession, sounding almost like high-pitched laughter. As it calls, it curls and unfurls its neck, like a dance. The call, too, is unmistakable. In fact, researchers have described the Red-legged Seriema’s “unusual voice” as “one of its most outstanding features” (Jones, et al 2024). Soon, two other Red-legged Seriemas appear and you are treated to a chorus of calls that lasts for perhaps a minute or so. Seeing (and hearing) this bird in the wild is most certainly a highlight for any nature lover.
We chose to focus this month’s blog on the Red-legged Seriema because of some exciting news that came out in 2019, that most people still probably haven’t heard. Raptor researchers from The Peregrine Fund reclassified seriemas and they are now considered birds of prey! They are in this illustrious category alongside eagles, hawks, and falcons. Read more about the fascinating work done by biologists from The Peregrine Fund to make this determination. While this blog is focused on the Red-legged Seriema, we would be remiss not to mention that there are actually two species of seriema. The other is the Black-legged Seriema. Both live in parts of South America.
Facts about the Red-legged Seriema
- The Red-legged Seriema can run at speeds of around 40 mph (70 kph).
- This species prefers more open habitats such as savannas, grasslands, open woodlands, Chaco (a mixture of savannas and thorn forests), cerrado, and agricultural areas.
- They can and do feed on venomous snakes.
- The International Union of Conservation of Nature categorizes the Red-legged Seriema as a species of Least Concern.
- Though able to fly, it rarely does.
- Surprisingly, Red-legged Seriemas do not nest on the ground. Instead, they build their stick nests in trees, sometimes as high as 9 meters above the ground.
- Seriemas walk along the ground in search of prey. They will sometimes hold their prey in their beaks and beat it against a rock or the ground, or stomp on it with their feet to kill it.
- Its scientific name is Cariama cristata.
When and Where to see Red-legged Seriemas
This stunning bird lives in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, and Paraguay. Another great place to spot this stunning bird is in the Matto Grosso State of Brazil. A tour to this region does not disappoint. It encompasses immense rivers, large swaths of grasslands, wooded areas, plains, and of course, the world-famous Pantanal. The Pantanal is our planet’s largest wetland and is home to a wide variety of biodiversity. It also happens to be one of the best places in the world to see and photograph jaguars.
Jaguars, Sunbitterns, Giant Otters, and Hyacinth Macaws are just a few of the many species that you can see, along with Red-legged Seriemas, on a tour to Brazil.
References:
McClure, C., S. Schulwitz, D. Anderson, B. Robinson, E. Mojica, JF Therrien, M. Oleyar, and J. Johnson. 2019. Commentary: Defining Raptors and Birds. Journal of Raptor Research. DOI: 10.3356/0892-1016-53.4.419
Jones, W., C. Calimares, L. P. Gonzaga, and G. M. Kirwan (2024). Red-legged Seriema (Cariama cristata), version 2.0. In Birds of the World (F. Medrano, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.relser1.02
The Peregrine Fund, Explore Raptors: Red-legged Seriema
