- Anhima cornuta
Identification
Photo © by Stanley Jones.
Cocha Blanco, Río Madre de Dios, Manu Lodge, Madre de Dios Department, Peru, 13 September 2018
Cocha Blanco, Río Madre de Dios, Manu Lodge, Madre de Dios Department, Peru, 13 September 2018
L. 84-95 cm (33-38 in)
Wt. 3.5 kg (7.7 lbs)
- Black head, breast and upperparts
- White speckles on the crown, throat and wing coverts
- Long quill projects forward from the crown
- White belly and underwing coverts
- Two sharp spurs on its wings
- Long, strong legs
- Partially webbed feet
Distribution
South America: found in Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador.
Taxonomy
Habitat
Well-vegetated marshes in the lowlands. Moist tropical forests
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet consists mostly of aquatic plants, including leaves, stems, roots and flowers. They also eat a small amount of insects.
Breeding
Monogamous. The nest is a large pile of floating vegetation anchored in shallow water. The clutch contains 3 olive-brown eggs.
Vocalisation
Loud braying calls that sound like a donkey carry long distances. Air-sacks in their legs make a popping sound.
Movements
Mostly resident.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Carboneras, C., Boesman, P. & Kirwan, G.M. (2019). Horned Screamer (Anhima cornuta). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/52790 on 19 July 2019).
- Piland, N. (2010). Horned Screamer (Anhima cornuta), version 1.0. In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/nb.horscr1.01
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2023) Horned Screamer. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 30 November 2023 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Horned_Screamer
