Order
Anseriformes
Family
Anhimidae
Genus
Chauna
 
Neotropical Birds
Version  1.0
This is a historic version of this account.   Current version
 - Southern Screamer
 - Southern Screamer
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Southern Screamer Chauna torquata

Serina Brady
Version: 1.0 — Published August 13, 2010

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Introduction

The Southern Screamer is the southernmost member of one of the most distinctive families of neotropical birds, the screamers (Anhimidae). It is also one of the largest birds found in its range and is easily identifiable by its large size, disproportionately small head, and predominantly gray plumage. Other distinctive features include two bony wing spurs, a lack of feather tracks, and incredibly light bones. The Southern Screamer is common in a variety of marshy and agricultural habitats from Bolivia and southern Brazil south to central Argentina. In Argentina it is locally known to as 'chaja,' in reference to its double-noted trumpeting call, an extraordinarily loud vocalization than can carry for long distances.

Distribution of the Southern Screamer - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Southern Screamer

Recommended Citation

Brady, S. (2010). Southern Screamer (Chauna torquata), version 1.0. In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/nb.souscr1.01
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