Southern Screamer

Chauna torquate

The Birds of the World website introduces the Southern Screamer with this descriptive information:  The Southern Screamer is the southernmost member of one of the most distinctive families of neotropical birds, the screamers (Anhimidae). It is also one of the largest birds found in its range and is easily identifiable by its large size, disproportionately small head, and predominantly gray plumage. Other distinctive features include two bony wing spurs, a lack of feather tracks, and incredibly light bones. The Southern Screamer is common in a variety of marshy and agricultural habitats from Bolivia and southern Brazil south to central Argentina. In Argentina it is locally known to as ‘chaja,‘ in reference to its double-noted trumpeting call, an extraordinarily loud vocalization than can carry for long distances.

I met my first Southern Screamer on Thursday morning, August 24, 2023.  Our Jeff Parker Tour group had been staying at Southwild’s Fazenda Santa Tereza and on this morning we were headed south on the Transpantaneira Highway enroute  to Porto Jofre and ultimately the Jaguar Flotel.  It was along the Transpantaneira that I watched and photographed this bird. The moment I laid eyes on this unusual bird I knew I had never seen one before! For details of my Brazilian trip that include the sighting of this bird, look here.  Below are a few of my photos of this unique bird.