Species group · Birds
Seriemas
WAnimals has 2 species of seriema, in the family Cariamidae.
- 2 species
- 1 family
- 5 countries
- 27 parks
- Weight
- 1.1 kg – 1.5 kg
- Length
- 70 cm – 90 cm
- Lifespan
- 25 years
Ranges calculated from the profiles that record the figure, not from all 2.
All 2 species of seriemas on WAnimals
Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
Conservation status
2 Least Concern
No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.
Where they live
Recorded in 5 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:
Where to see them
Did you know…?
Along with the red-legged seriema it is the only living relative of the phorusrhacids, the terror birds: flightless predators up to three metres tall that were the great carnivores of South America for tens of millions of years.
From Black-legged Seriema
It is more arboreal than its relative: it roosts in trees and often hunts from a low branch, dropping onto lizards and rodents passing beneath.
From Black-legged Seriema
Its song is a rising wail that pairs perform as a duet at dawn, and is one of the characteristic sounds of the dry Chaco.
From Black-legged Seriema
It is the closest living relative of the terror birds, the phorusrhacids: flightless predators up to three metres tall with enormous bills, which were the great carnivores of South America for tens of millions of years.
From Red-legged Seriema
It kills snakes by beating them repeatedly against the ground or hurling them against a stone, a technique it also applies to lizards and rodents.
From Red-legged Seriema
Its song, a rising and falling howl performed as a duet by the pair, carries for kilometres across the cerrado and is one of the most recognisable sounds of the Brazilian interior.
From Red-legged Seriema