Anhima cornuta
The Horned Screamer, Anhima cornuta, is a large, striking avian species that immediately captures attention with its unique physical attributes and vocal prowess. Averaging 80-95 cm (31-37 in) in length, with a wingspan of approximately 170 cm (67 in) and weighing 2-3.5 kg (4.4-7.7 lb), it possesses a robust, goose-like body. Its most distinctive field mark is the slender, flexible, keratinous 'horn' up to 15 cm (6 in) long protruding from its forehead, which is not bone but a specialized fea...
This species primarily inhabits tropical and subtropical wetlands, including swamps, marshes, lagoons, slow-moving rivers, and flooded savannas, typically found in lowland elevations up to 1,000 meters.
The Horned Screamer's diet consists mainly of leaves, stems, flowers, and seeds of aquatic and semi-aquatic plants, supplemented occasionally with small insects.
Horned Screamers are diurnal birds, spending their days foraging and defending territories, often roosting communally in trees at night, especially outside the breeding season. They are primarily grazers, dabbling for aquatic vegetation and occasionally plucking leaves from low-hanging branches. ...
The Horned Screamer is a resident species found exclusively in tropical and subtropical South America, east of the Andes Mountains. Its extensive breeding and year-round range spans from northern Colombia and Venezuela, through the Guianas, eastward across vast portions of Brazil, and southward i...
Least Concern
- Despite their name, Horned Screamers are more closely related to ducks and geese than to other large terrestrial birds. - The 'horn' on their head is not bone but a flexible, keratinous structure, similar to a feather shaft, that can grow up to 15 cm long. - They possess two sharp, bony spurs o...