Species group · Birds
Seriemas
WAnimals has 2 species of seriema, all 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 entries that record the figure, not from all 2.
All 2 species of seriemas on WAnimals
Each one has its own full entry. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
Conservation status
No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.
See the global conservation statusWhere 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