These Birds Lack Southern Charm
I am aware that generalization is wrong, but I am sharing this species in the hope I will get over my personal history and grow as a person. So, welcome to my bird exposure therapy session… Also known as this week’s post on Crested screamers, also known as Southern screamers.
What is a southern screamer? Besides my grandma? Yeah I know, bad joke, but she was southern and very grumpy…much like this bird. Southern screamers are large birds, standing at just under 3ft and can weigh almost 10lbs. They are a type of waterfowl that looks like a combination of a chicken and a stork. They are usually grey in color with a black ring (some times there is a white one as well) around their neck, and bright red around the eyes to the beak. Their legs are longs, which is perfect for wading in shallow water.
Where are they from? Southern screamers are one of the largest birds found in……South America! They are generally found in the central to southern portion of the continent, around Bolivia and down through Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina. The Pantanal is their ideal habitat, being the largest tropical wetland in the world at 42 million acres across Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia. They are found in tropical and subtropical climates, and since they are waterfowl they prefer wetlands, lakes, and marshes.
What do southern screamers eat? Like the mighty goose, southern screamers are foragers that prefer grasses and water plants. They are herbivores, but if they feel like it, these birds have been known to eat insects and the occasional small lizard. They have “teeth” called lamellae that help with stripping the plants whilst the screamers are browsing.
What does southern screamer courting look like? It’s all very romantic. These birds will search for their love’s duet, and when they find their match they will sing duets and preen each other’s feathers. They don’t just duet when they are close, but will sing to each other over great distances. Very sweet. They build their nests on the ground, not too far from a water source. They have very healthy relationships, as pairs build the nests together, incubate the eggs in shifts, and care for the chicks. They are just a perfect couple. When the female lays the eggs, it’s usually around 2-7 eggs, which take about 43-46 days of incubation to hatch. Both parents helps raise the chicks till they are around 13 weeks old, when the chicks are independent (there are no basements or a guest nest for them to crash in). So since these birds form pairs, people like to ask “do they mate for life?” and the answer is, they can. Southern screamers are monogamous, and this monogamy can last a season, years, and even for life. It’s very sweet.
What are southern screamer superpowers? I will try to say superpowers instead of villainous tendencies…. So the number one power they have is in the name. They scream like a banshee, and I can tell you from experience, they are so loud it hurts. When working with them we were told to wear the same ear protection as people who work on planes or in NASCAR. Their second superpower/villain tool is a rather large talon -like spur on their wings. These spurs combined with powerful wings and the scream dissuade most predators. These birds have no problems gouging anybody or anything if they feel threatened (or if you looked at them in a way they don’t like, hear any smack talk, or if you look at their mate the wrong way). A half superpower is that some people have domesticated southern screamers to be guardians for their livestock. The birds’ natural alarm call, and ability to protect itself with their spurs, makes them an ideal guardian.
How many are there? There is only one Southern screamer (thank goodness) with no subspecies. There are other screamers in the Family, but the southern screamer shares its genus with its northern cousin, the (you guessed it) northern screamer. The southern screamer is fairly common and doing well…please don’t go ask someone to go and count them all. Think of the researchers’ poor ears.
Southern screamer range. Image: American Bird Conservancy
Science Time!!!
Southern screamer - Chauna torquata
According to the IUCN Red List, this species is classified as Least Concern due to its prevalence. There are issues and threats these birds do face, such as being seen as pests to farmers as they raid farmers’ crops (like hobbits), and compete with domesticated birds for food. They also are loosing habitat to deforestation and draining of wetlands. So that’s no bueno, but they are hardy birds and we don’t have to worry too much about them at the moment.
What’s my beef with southern screamers? I worked with a really old couple at a zoo, and they were so grumpy. The male in particular used to stalk me, gouge me, screamed at me repeatedly for absolutely no reason at all. One time he waited till I was in his holding area, which was just a cinder block room, cleaning and minding my own business with no headphones on, and screamed as loud as he could. Now I have tinnitus….he broke my ears. Plus I really don’t appreciate a bird trying to shank me with a wing spur that was over an inch long. Not cool bro. So yeah, he made a not so great impression on me for his species.
Resources:
American Bird Conservancy (n.d.). Southern Screamer. ABC’c Bird Library. https://abcbirds.org/bird/southern-screamer/
BirdLife International. 2016. Chauna torquata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22679729A92826769. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22679729A92826769.en.
Nolle, J. (2023). Chauna torquata. Animal Diversity Web. https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Chauna_torquata/
