Results: Horned Screamer

The horned screamer is a massive 84–95 cm (33–37.5 in) long, 3.5 kg (7.7 lb) bird, with a small chicken-like bill. There is a long spiny structure projecting forward from the crown. This structure is unique among birds and is not derived from a feather but is a cornified structure that is loosely attached to the skull and grows continuously while often breaking at its tip. This gives this species its name and its nickname, "the unicorn of the bird world". It has very long and lanky legs and three large toes on each. The belly and under wing coverts are white. It has two sharp spurs on its wings and feet which are only partially webbed. Before today's survey, were you familiar with horned screamers?

The horned screamer's call, as the name suggests, is a very loud and repetitive echoing sound. It is called "el clon-clon" in Ecuador because of this peculiar feature. Would you be interested in seeing/hearing one of these screamers in the wild?

The horned screamer is found in lowlands from Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, French Guiana, Suriname, and Guyana. Despite having declined locally, it remains widespread and is fairly common overall. Its range in Brazil appears to have expanded in recent years. Are you glad that horned screamers are not an endangered species?

Screamers, like most birds, tend to group together, but are for the most part semi-social. The existence of the screamer is rather sedentary. It lives in well-vegetated marshes and feeds on water plants. Its nest is a large pile of floating vegetation anchored in shallow water. Three olive-brown eggs are laid, and the young, like those of most Anseriformes, can run as soon as they are hatched. Do you think that horned screamers are unusual birds?