Horned screamer

HORNED SCREAMER s. Large black bird of the wader order, palamedeae family, whose head is adorned with a sort of helmet and whose wings are armed with spurs: it lives in the marshes of Guyana and Brazil. The horned screamer (palamedea cornuta, Linn.), is larger than a goose, it is approximately 130 cm (4′ 4″) long; it is blackish with a red spot on each shoulder, the lower parts of the chest are white. Horned Screamers usually live in pairs in the flooded districts of Brazil and Guyana, particularly close to the sea; they are shy and timid and they have a shrill voice which they use at the slightest alarm; they sometimes perch on the trees; their food consists of seeds, aquatic plants and perhaps of reptiles. They are easily tamed.

Extract from the Trousset encyclopedia, 1886 – 1891.