Schwarzfußseriema
| Schwarzfußseriema | ||||||||||
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Black foot seriema ( Chunga burmeisteri ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||
| Chunga | ||||||||||
| Hartlaub , 1860 | ||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||
| Chunga burmeisteri | ||||||||||
| ( Hartlaub , 1860) |
The Schwarzfußseriema or Tschunja ( Chunga burmeisteri ) is a species of bird that occurs in the interior of southern South America.
distribution
It is distributed in southern and southeastern Bolivia , western Paraguay and central, northern Argentina (south to the provinces of Mendoza and La Pampa ).
description
The Schwarzfußseriema reaches a body length of 70 to 85 cm with a weight of 1.2 kg. It is gray in color with a lighter belly side. Fledglings have a white speckled back. The wing tops show the same pattern. The head, neck and chest of the young birds are clearly banded.
From the red-footed seriema ( Cariama cristata ) that occurs sympathetically with it , the only other seriema species, the black-footed seriema can be easily distinguished due to its smaller body size, black beak, black legs and dark eyes. In addition, the Rotfußseriema has a conspicuous, upright tuft of feathers on the front head, which the Schwarzfußseriema lacks.
voice
The birds call mainly in the early hours of the morning. Their call sounds slightly tinny like cou, cou, cou-cou-cou , whereby the last notes converge and can merge into a more hoarse, screeching chant. A calling bird often stimulates other nearby black-footed seriema to respond.
Way of life
The Schwarzfußseriema occurs in open forests, mountain forests, in savannas and in the Gran Chaco and, in contrast to the Rotfußseriema, prefers lower altitudes and warmer temperatures. The birds are predominantly sedentary and do not migrate - apart from a few local trains in the Gran Chaco.
The Schwarzfußseriema often stays in the vicinity of large grazing animals such as cattle or horses and eats small animals that were startled by them while grazing. Stomachs of less studied specimens from the northwestern Argentine province of Tucumán contained beetles, grasshoppers, a complete rodent, leaves, grass and a few seeds. Captive birds mainly ate arthropods , including grasshoppers, cockroaches, beetle larvae, spiders, and millipedes, as well as water snails, small frogs, lizards, bats, mice, and dead rats and birds, as well as fruits and leaves. A dead, larger bird was hit to the ground before it was swallowed.
The breeding season varies depending on the occurrence. In the Gran Chaco, the breeding season begins in November or December. Young birds were caught in Argentina as early as December. The nest is built just a little above the ground in bushes and on small trees. It consists of loosely folded branches and twigs. The two to three eggs per clutch are white with a grayish mark.
Danger
Although little information is available, the Schwarzfußseriema is not considered endangered. In most of northern Argentina it is still quite common, but is e.g. B. disappeared in parts of the province of Cordoba .
literature
- LP Gonzaga: Black-legged Seriema (Chunga burmeisteri). In: Josep del Hoyo , Andrew Elliott, David Christie: Handbook of the Birds of the World . Volume 3: Hoatzin To Auks. Lynx Edicions 2001, ISBN 84-87334-20-2 .
Web links
- BirdLife International: Species Factsheet - Red-legged Seriema ( Chunga burmeisteri ) . Retrieved August 16, 2013.
- xeno-canto: Sound recordings - Black-legged Seriema ( Chunga burmeisteri )
- Chunga burmeisteri inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2013.