Red-legged Seriema

Cariama cristata (Linnaeus, 1766)

Red-legged Seriema, Cariama cristata, is a South American bird in the seriema family, found from eastern Bolivia and Brazil south to northern Argentina and Uruguay. It belongs to the order Cariamiformes. Also called the crested cariama or crested seriema, it is a terrestrial species with a broad range across central and eastern parts of the continent. Farmers sometimes keep it as a guard animal to help protect poultry from predators and from human intruders.

Order

Cariamiformes

Family

Cariamidae — Seriemas

Breeding range

South America: e Bolivia to e Brazil s to n Argentina and Uruguay