Crested Screamer
Chauna torquata
CLASS: Aves
ORDER: Anseriformes
FAMILY: Anhimidae
SIZE:
Total length 35 inches; 4 - 6 lbs.
RANGE:
South America
HABITAT:
Swampy, pampas areas
DIET:
Wild - Entirely vegetarian
Zoo - Fresh fruits, scratch, crane chow, lettuce, corn
DESCRIPTION:
Almost goose-sized birds of fowl-like appearance, with thick, long legs and feet without webs
Two sharp, spur-like outgrowths of the fused carpal bones on the wing, which are covered externally by keratin
Twelve tail feathers
FACTS:
Flocks circle above the water in their habitats calling melodiously
Can glide well unlike swans, geese and ducks
Make goose-like call, and a throaty sound resembling drumming
Can swim well and will climb onto the leaves of floating plants from the shore
Calmly walk about the shore or in shallow water
Sharp spurs on the wings are sometimes used as weapons
YOUNG:
5 - 6 eggs producing precocial young with yellow down, resemble goslings
STATUS:
Not threatened; domesticated in parts of its range
REFERENCE:
"Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia," Vol. 7 Birds I, Dr. Bernhard Grzimek
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