Latest update February 4th, 2025 5:54 AM
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Interesting Creatures… Horned screamer (Anhima cornuta)
The horned screamer (Anhima cornuta) is a member of a small family of birds, the Anhimidae, which occurs in wetlands of tropical South America. There are three screamer species, the other two being the southern screamer and the northern screamer in the genus Chauna. They are related to the ducks, geese and swans, which are in the family Anatidae, but have bills looking more like those of game birds.
The horned screamer is a massive 84–95 cm (33–38 in) long, 3.5 kg (7.7 lbs) bird, with a small chicken-like bill. The upperparts, head and breast are black, with white speckles on the crown, throat and wing coverts. There is a long, spiny structure projecting forward from the crown. This structure is unique among birds and is not derived from a feather, but is a cornified structure that is loosely attached to the skull and grows continuously while often breaking at its tip. This gives this species its name. The belly and under wing coverts are white. It has two sharp spurs on its wings, and feet which are only partially webbed.
The horned screamer’s call, as its name suggests, is a very loud U-WHO or honking YOIK-YOK.
The horned screamer is found in lowlands from Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Suriname, French Guiana, and Guyana. It is now extinct in Trinidad and Tobago. Despite having declined locally, it remains widespread and is fairly common overall. Its range in Brazil appears to have expanded in recent years.
It lives in well-vegetated marshes and feeds on water plants. Its nest is a large pile of floating vegetation anchored in shallow water. Three olive-brown eggs are laid, and the young, like those of most Anseriformes, can run as soon as they are hatched.
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