Red-legged seriema

{{Short description|Species of bird}} {{Speciesbox | image = 174 Red-legged seriema in Encontro das Águas State Park Photo by Giles Laurent.jpg | image_caption = in Mato Grosso, Brazil | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Cariama cristata'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T22692205A93341300 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22692205A93341300.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> | parent_authority = Brisson, 1760 | taxon = Cariama cristata | authority = (Linnaeus, 1766) | synonyms = (Genus) * ''Microdactylus'' <small>É.Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809</small> (Species) * ''Microdactylus marcgravii'' <small>É.Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809</small> * ''Palamedea cristata'' {{small|Linnaeus, 1766}} | range_map = Cariama cristata map.svg }}

The '''red-legged seriema''' {{IPAc-en|s|ɛ|r|i|ˈ|iː|m|ə}} ('''''Cariama cristata'''''), also known as the '''crested cariama''' {{IPAc-en|k|æ|r|i|ˈ|ɑː|m|ə}} and '''crested seriema''', is a mostly predatory terrestrial bird in the seriema family (Cariamidae), included in the Gruiformes in the old polyphyletic circumscription but recently placed in a distinct order: Cariamiformes (along with three extinct families).

The red-legged seriema is widely distributed in South America, occurring in central and eastern Brazil through eastern Bolivia and Paraguay to Uruguay and central Argentina (south to La Pampa).<ref name="BOW"/>

Like the black-legged seriema, farmers often use them as guard animals to protect poultry from predators and sometimes human intruders.<ref name="drummond" />

==Taxonomy== The red-legged seriema was described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. He coined the binomial name ''Palamedea cristata''.<ref name="linnaeus" /> The red-legged seriema is now the only species placed in the genus ''Cariama'' that was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760.<ref name="brisson" /><ref name="ioc" /> The specific epithet ''cristata'' is Latin for "crested", "plumed" or "tufted".<ref name="cristata" /> The German naturalist Georg Marcgrave used the Latin word ''Cariama'' for the red-legged seriema in his ''Historia naturalis Brasiliae'', which was published in 1648.<ref name="marcgrave" />

The name is derived from the Portuguese word {{Lang|pt|seriema}}, which comes from a Tupi word corresponding to ''çariama'', derived from the words ''çaria'' (crest) and ''am'' (raised).<ref name="Costa"/><ref name="cristata"/>

==Description== left|thumb|Close-up of ''Cariama cristata''  The red-legged seriema is around {{convert|75|to|90|cm|in}} long and weighs about {{convert|1.5|to|2.2|kg|lb}},<ref name="BOW"/> with long legs, necks, and tails. The males are slightly larger than females. It has a greyish-brown plumage, finely barred and vermiculated with dark brown and black; pale brown on the head, neck, and breast; white on belly. The long, broad outer tail has a subterminal black band and a white tip. It has a reddish beak and very long, salmon-coloured legs. The eyes are yellow.<ref name="NeotropicalBirds"/><ref name="BOW"/> Soft feathers emerge from the base of the bill to form a distinctive fan-shaped crest.<ref name="hh2003" />

Many other characteristics are shared with the black-legged seriema (''Chunga burmeisteri''), the only other living member of its family. Some of these traits are discussed in the Cariamidae article.

==Distribution and habitat== The red-legged seriema inhabits most of central and eastern Brazil, Paraguay, eastern and southeastern Bolivia, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina. It is found at elevations up to {{convert|6600|ft|m}}.<ref name="oiseaux" />

The red-legged seriema prefers grassland habitat to any other. Though it likes to inhabit lush meadows near rivers, it will not readily move into wetlands or crop fields.<ref name="Accordi" /> It frequents semi-open and fairly dry areas such as thorny scrub and semi-arid woodland regions, savannas and ranchlands, and also hilly grasslands near wooded areas. This species is very typical in Caatinga, Cerrado and Chaco.<ref name="oiseaux" />

==Behavior and ecology== Seriemas are wary, territorial, and diurnal birds.<ref name="Sick1997" /><ref name="hh2003" /> Generally, the red-legged seriema is sedentary, although there are reports of temperature-related migrations.<ref name="Grzimek"/> It is typically seen singly or in pairs, but occasionally in groups of up to four individuals, apparently families. It usually walks on the ground and can easily run faster than a human in its habitat. It will flee a car on foot at speeds up to 25 km/h (15 mph) before flying.<ref name="rp1986" />

Territorial defense may involve agonistic confrontation between individuals, initially characterized by full vocalization duets followed by short runs and flights towards intruders, alternated with claws and beak attacks.<ref name="Souza2018" /> In one conflict between two birds, they jumped at each other feet-first, keeping their balance by flapping.<ref name="rp1986" /><ref name="Silva2016"/>

This species typically nests on low trees or bushes,<ref name="hh2003" /> so that adults are able to reach the nest from the ground by short hops or flutters rather than by flying.<ref name="Peregrine" />

Red-legged seriemas demonstrate an unusual way of hunting vertebrate prey; they pick the prey up with their beak and repeatedly throw it at the ground until it is stunned or dead.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Red Legged Seriema |url=https://www.woburnsafari.co.uk/discover-your-safari/meet-the-animals/red-legged-seriema/ |access-date=2024-04-15 |website=www.woburnsafari.co.uk |language=en}}</ref>

==Vocalization== Full vocalization by the seriema is mainly done at dawn and to a lesser extent, at dusk. It can also occur irregularly at other times of day.<ref name="BOW"/>

The song has a quality described as "a cross between 'the serrated bark of a young dog and the clucking of turkeys'".<ref name="burmeister" /> At the loudest part of the song, the bird has its neck bent so its head is touching its back. Both members of a pair as well as young down to the age of two weeks sing; often one member of a family starts a song just as another finishes, or two sing simultaneously. The song can be heard several kilometers away; in Emas National Park, Brazil, in 1981–1982, observers often heard four red-legged seriemas or groups singing at once.<ref name="rp1986" />

The full song consists of three sections: #Repeated single notes at constant pitch (1,200 to 1,300 Hz) and duration but increasing tempo #Repeated two- or three-note subphrases of slightly higher pitch with increasing tempo #Subphrases of up to 10 notes, shorter ones rising in pitch and longer ones falling, two-subphrase combinations increasing in number of notes and tempo and then decreasing in tempo.

Their song was sampled by Boards of Canada on their track "Happy Cycling" on their debut album Music Has the Right to Children, which was taken from the Vangelis album ''La Fête Sauvage''.

==Diet== Red-legged seriemas are omnivorous, probably eating prey in response to its abundance.<ref name="rp1986"/> Diets mainly consist of arthropods (such as grasshoppers, beetles, ants and spiders), insect larvae, lizards, amphibians, snakes, rodents and other small vertebrates; occasionally, corn (''Zea'') grains and other crops, wild fruits and tree gum. In captivity, and probably even in the wild, eggs and chicks of other bird species are also eaten.<ref name="BOW"/>

Seriemas typically feed alone or in pairs, seasonally in small family groups; they forage by walking steadily, looking for food on the ground or in low vegetation. Foraging birds sometimes remain obscured due to cryptic plumage colours.<ref name="BOW"/> It grabs small vertebrates in its beak and beats them against the ground before dismembering them with its beak and claws.

During a long-term study in Arcos municipality, Minas Gerais, Brazil, a research team placed a camera trap at one of 44 seriema nests in their study area. On 29 September 2018 it recorded a 20-minute video of an adult killing one of three nestlings, eating part of it, and allowing the other two nestlings to feed on the carcass. It was the first documented parental infanticide and cannibalism by the species in the wild though it had been observed in a captive individual. The researchers note that very few red-legged seriema broods fledge three young and speculate that the third nestling serves as reserve food for the other two in times of stress.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Studer |first1=Anita |author-link=Anita Studer |last2=Batista |first2=Luis |last3=Gomes |first3=Maria Clara B. |last4=Marini |first4=Miguel Ângelo |date=2021 |title=Parental infanticide and cannibalism by the Red-legged Seriema (''Cariama cristata'') |journal=The Wilson Journal of Ornithology |volume=133 |issue=2 |pages=354–358 |doi=10.17632/xn8p7rxkyn.1 }}</ref>

==Reproduction== Seriemas are monogamous. In the wild, the breeding season correlates to the rainy months of February to July in the northeast of Brazil, September to January in central Brazil and November to December in Argentina.<ref name="AZA"/>

During the breeding season, the male, more intimidating or forcing himself on the female, spreads out his wings laterally, moving them forward and displaying the contrasting arrangement of the flight feathers, a pattern similar to that of certain birds of prey, such as the African secretarybird (''Sagittarius serpentarius'').<ref name="Sick1997" /> The display is often followed by a strut in front of the female, with the head pointing and the crest lifted. The male also gives food (from the normal diet) to the female. Both birds call, thereby reinforcing the bond between them as well as establishing the territories of the pair. Copulation takes place on the ground.<ref name="Grzimek"/>

Typically, 2–3 white, softly spotted eggs are laid. Incubation is done by both sexes, lasting 24–30 days. The chicks are coated with long, light brown feathers and are fed by both parents; initially, they weigh around {{Convert|40–60|g|oz|abbr=on}}. At around 14 days of age, the chicks are able to leave their nests. At this time, the chick is able to make a call similar to the adult vocalization, although very faint,<ref name="AZA"/> to attract the parents' attention to itself.<ref name="Sick1997" /> Adult plumage is obtained in 4–5 months.<ref name="BOW"/>

==Gallery== <gallery> File:Seriamanail (high res).jpg|The sickle claw of a red-legged seriema resembles Dromaeosauridae, used in fighting File:Cariama cristataPCCA20051227-2025A.jpg|Closeup of head; Jacksonville Zoo & Botanical Gardens, Florida File:Red-legged Seriema RWD1.jpg|Jacksonville Zoo & Botanical Gardens, Florida File:Cariama cristata (Rotfußseriema - Red-legged Seriema) - Weltvogelpark Walsrode 2013-02.jpg|Weltvogelpark Walsrode, Germany File:Cariama cristata (Rotfußseriema - Red-legged Seriema) - Weltvogelpark Walsrode 2013-03.jpg|Front view of the head File:Cariama cristata at Parque das Aves (Foz do Iguaçu)-1.jpg|Screaming ''Cariama cristata'' at Parque das Aves (Foz do Iguaçu) File:Red-legged seriema (Cariama cristata) head.JPG|Pantanal, Brazil File:Cariama cristata -near Goiania, Goias, Brazil-8.jpg|Near Goiânia in central Brazil </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="Accordi">Accordi, Iury Almeida & Barcellos, André (2006): Composição da avifauna em oito áreas úmidas da Bacia Hidrográfica do Lago Guaíba, Rio Grande do Sul [Bird composition and conservation in eight wetlands of the hidrographic basin of Guaíba lake, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil]. ''Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia'' '''14'''(2): 101–115 [Portuguese with English abstract]. [http://www.ararajuba.org.br/sbo/ararajuba/artigos/Volume142/ara142art2.pdf PDF fulltext] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219192057/http://www.ararajuba.org.br/sbo/ararajuba/artigos/Volume142/ara142art2.pdf |date=2008-12-19 }}</ref> <ref name="hh2003">Holyoak, David T. & Heinsohn, Robert (2003): Seriemas. ''In:'' Perrins, Christopher (ed.): ''Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds'': 222. Firefly Books. {{ISBN|1-55297-777-3}}</ref> <ref name="rp1986">{{cite journal|author1=Redford, Kent H. |author2=Peters, Gustav |name-list-style=amp |year=1986|title=Notes on the biology and song of the Red-legged Seriema (''Cariama cristata'')|journal=Journal of Field Ornithology|volume=57|issue=4|pages=261–269|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/jfo/v057n04/p0261-p0269.pdf}}</ref>

<ref name="drummond">{{cite web |title=Red-legged Seriema |url=https://www.blairdrummond.com/animals/red-legged-seriema |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150302191147/http://www.blairdrummond.com/animals/red-legged-seriema |archive-date=March 2, 2015 |publisher=Blair Drummond Safari & Adventure Park |date=2018}}</ref> <ref name="linnaeus">{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1766 | title=Systema naturae: per regna tria natura, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | edition=12th | volume=1, Part 1 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | place=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=la | page=232 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42946428 }}</ref> <ref name="brisson">{{ cite book | last=Brisson | first=Mathurin Jacques | author-link=Mathurin Jacques Brisson | year=1760 | title=Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés | language=fr, la | at=[https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36010447 Vol. 1, p. 48], [https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36294922 Vol. 5, p. 516] | place=Paris | publisher=Jean-Baptiste Bauche }}</ref> <ref name="ioc">{{cite web | editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | year=2019 | title=Bustards, mesites, seriemas, Kagu, flufftails, finfoots | work=World Bird List Version 9.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/bustards/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=9 April 2019 | archive-date=7 September 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907054708/https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/bustards/ }}</ref> <ref name="cristata">{{cite web | last=Jobling | first=J.A. | year=2019 | title= Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology | editor1-last=del Hoyo | editor1-first=J. | editor2-last=Elliott | editor2-first=A. | editor3-last=Sargatal | editor3-first=J. | editor4-last=Christie | editor4-first=D.A. | editor5-last=de Juana | editor5-first=E. | work=Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive | publisher=Lynx Edicions | url=https://www.hbw.com/dictionary/definition/cristata | access-date=9 April 2019 }}</ref> <ref name="marcgrave">{{ cite book | last=Marcgrave | first=Georg | author-link=Georg Marcgrave | year=1648 | title=Historia naturalis Brasiliae | volume=Liber Quintus: Qui agit de Avibus | language=la | place=Lugdun and Batavorum (London and Leiden) | publisher=Franciscum Hackium and Elzevirium | page=203 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/289296 }}</ref> <ref name="burmeister">H. Burmeister, quoted and translated by Redford & Peters (1986)</ref> <ref name="BOW">{{Cite book| publisher = Cornell Lab of Ornithology| editor1-first=Shawn M. | editor1-last=Billerman | editor2-first=Brooke K. | editor2-last=Keeney | editor3-first=Paul G. | editor3-last=Rodewald |editor4-first=Thomas S. |editor4-last=Schulenberg | last1 = Gonzaga| first1 = Luiz P.| last2 = Kirwan| first2 = Guy M.| title = Birds of the World| chapter = Red-legged Seriema (Cariama cristata)| access-date = 2020-11-15| date = 2020-03-04| chapter-url = https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/relser1/1.0/introduction}}</ref> <ref name="NeotropicalBirds">{{Cite book| publisher = University of Chicago Press| isbn = 978-0-226-05641-8| last = Blake| first = Emmet Reid| title = Manual of Neotropical Birds| date = 1977}}</ref> <ref name="Grzimek">{{Cite book |title=Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia {{!}} Birds II |edition=2 |publisher=Gale Group |isbn=0-7876-5785-9 |volume=9 |editor1=Hutchins, Michael |editor2=Jackson, Jerome A. |editor3=Bock, Walter J. |editor4=Olendorf, Donna |location=Farmington Hills, MI |date=2003 |pages=88–89}}</ref> <ref name="Silva2016">{{Cite journal| issn = 2662-673X| volume = 24| issue = 2| pages = 73–79| last1 = Silva| first1 = Aline N| last2 = Nunes| first2 = Rhewter| last3 = Estrela| first3 = Dieferson C| last4 = Malafaia| first4 = Guilherme| last5 = Castro| first5 = André LS| title = Behavioral repertoire of the poorly known Red-legged Seriema, Cariama cristata (Cariamiformes: Cariamidae)| journal = Ornithology Research| date = 2016}}</ref> <ref name="Souza2018">{{Cite journal| issn = 1075-4377| volume = 29| issue = 1| pages = 101–105| last1 = Souza| first1 = Daniele Cipriano de| last2 = Vieira| first2 = Lucas Donizetti| last3 = Castro| first3 = Andre Luis da Silva| title = Territoriality and Home Range of the Red-Legged Seriema (Cariama cristata)| journal = Ornitología Neotropical| access-date = 2020-11-16| date = 2018-05-14| doi = 10.58843/ornneo.v29i1.299| url = https://journals.sfu.ca/ornneo/index.php/ornneo/article/view/299| doi-access = free}}</ref> <ref name="Peregrine">{{Cite web| title = Red-legged Seriema {{!}} The Peregrine Fund| access-date = 2020-11-16| url = https://peregrinefund.org/explore-raptors-species/seriema/red-legged-seriema}}</ref> <ref name="Sick1997">{{Cite book| publisher = Editora Nova Fronteira| isbn = 978-85-209-0816-7| last1 = Sick| first1 = Helmut| last2 = Haffer| first2 = Jürgen| last3 = Alvarenga| first3 = Herculano F| last4 = Pacheco| first4 = José Fernando| last5 = Barruel| first5 = Paul| title = Ornitologia brasileira| location = Rio de Janeiro| date = 1997 |language=pt-BR}}</ref> <ref name="AZA">AZA Red-legged Seriema SSP (2013). ''Red-legged Seriema (Cariama cristata) Care Manual''. Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Silver Spring, MD. [https://assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2332/red_legged_seriema_care_manual_2013.pdf PDF]</ref> <ref name="oiseaux">{{Cite web| title = Red-legged Seriema| access-date = 2020-11-16| url = https://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-red-legged-seriema.html}}</ref> <ref name="Costa">{{Cite journal |author=Costa, Lucimara Alves da Conceição |year=2011 |title=Estudo lexical dos nomes indígenas das regiões de Aquidauana, Corumbá e Miranda no estado de Mato Grosso do Sul: a toponímia rural |journal=Moara – Revista Eletrônica do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras |volume=1 |issue=36 |page=75 |url=https://repositorio.ufms.br:8443/jspui/bitstream/123456789/1148/1/Lucimara%20Alves%20da%20Concei%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20Costa.pdf |location=Três Lagoas, MS |language=pt-BR |doi=10.18542/moara.v1i36.1103 |doi-access=free |archive-date=2020-03-06 |access-date=2020-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200306043412/https://repositorio.ufms.br:8443/jspui/bitstream/123456789/1148/1/Lucimara%20Alves%20da%20Concei%c3%a7%c3%a3o%20Costa.pdf }}</ref> }}

==External links== {{Commons|Cariama cristata}} {{Wikispecies|Cariama cristata}} {{EB1911 poster|Seriema}} {{Refbegin}} *[https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/relser1/cur/introduction Red-legged seriema videos] on the Internet Bird Collection *{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20001029115308/http://www.bird-stamps.org/cspecies/5000100.htm Stamps]}} (for Uruguay) with RangeMap *[http://vireo.acnatsci.org/search.html?Form=Search&SEARCHBY=Common&KEYWORDS=red-legged+seriema&showwhat=images&AGE=All&SEX=All&ACT=All&Search=Search&VIEW=All&ORIENTATION=All&RESULTS=24 Red-legged Seriema photo gallery] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119163034/http://vireo.acnatsci.org/search.html?Form=Search&SEARCHBY=Common&KEYWORDS=red-legged+seriema&showwhat=images&AGE=All&SEX=All&ACT=All&Search=Search&VIEW=All&ORIENTATION=All&RESULTS=24 |date=2018-11-19 }} *[http://www.geometer.org/Brazil2006/images/Seriema.jpg Photo-High Res]; [http://www.geometer.org/Brazil2006/best.html Article] geometer–"Brazil Birds" {{Refend}}

red-legged seriema red-legged seriema Category:Birds of Brazil Category:Birds of Bolivia Category:Birds of the Cerrado Category:Birds of the Caatinga Category:Birds of Paraguay Category:Birds of Uruguay Category:Birds of Argentina red-legged seriema red-legged seriema