Southern Screamer

Southern Screamer

Chauna torquata

Silhouette: Edouard Traviés · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Porto Alegre

In 3 days <5%

12 Verified sightings at Porto Alegre
3,039 In all 4 parks From 2019 to 2026
September Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Southern Screamer

The southern screamer (Chauna torquata) is a species of bird in family Anhimidae of the waterfowl order Anseriformes. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. The southern screamer shares genus Chauna with the northern screamer (C. chavaria). One other species, the horned screamer (Anhima cornuta) is also in family Anhimidae. The southern screamer is monotypic.

The southern screamer is one of the largest birds of southern South America at 83 to 90 cm (33 to 35 in) long and weighing about 4.4 kg (9.7 lb). Their flat wing measures 50 to 57 cm (20 to 22 in), their tail 22 to 26 cm (8.7 to 10.2 in), and their culmen 4.0 to 5.4 cm (1.6 to 2.1 in). Weight is known from one female, which was 4.4 kg (9.7 lb). They are stout bodied with a disproportionately small head and a "chicken-like" grayish brown bill. The sexes have the same plumage. Their head and upperparts are gray with a velvety black "collar" around the base of the neck. Their wings and tail are dusky and the wing has two sharp spurs at its manus. The front of their neck, their breast, and their sides are pale gray faintly mottled and streaked with white... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Duet0:15

Argentina · 2024

© Faustino Hollmann · XC1176821 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:35

Argentina · 2026

© Marcos E. Sosa · XC1143002 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Alarm call0:31

Brazil · 2021

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC686646 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Iberá National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~70%
2 Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas 🇧🇷 Brazil
~60%
3 El Impenetrable National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~30%
4 El Palmar National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~20%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Buenos Aires 🇦🇷 Argentina
~30%
2 Santa Cruz de la Sierra 🇧🇴 Bolivia
~20%
3 Campo Grande 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
4 Asuncion 🇵🇾 Paraguay
<5%
5 Montevideo 🇺🇾 Uruguay
<5%
6 Porto Alegre 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 San Diego Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
2 Prague Zoo 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
3 Tierpark Berlin 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
4 Natura Artis Magistra 🇳🇱 Netherlands In captivity
5 Zürich Zoo 🇨🇭 Switzerland In captivity
6 Parque das Aves 🇧🇷 Brazil In captivity
7 Barcelona Zoo 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
8 Zlín-Lešná Zoo 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
9 Ostrava Zoo 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
10 Parc des oiseaux 🇫🇷 France In captivity
11 Zoobotánico Jerez 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
12 Zoo d'Amiens 🇫🇷 France In captivity
13 Zoo Miami 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
14 San Diego Zoo Safari Park 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
15 Bronx Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
16 Kansas City Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
17 Parc zoologique de Montpellier 🇫🇷 France In captivity
18 Nashville Zoo at Grassmere 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
19 Sedgwick County Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
20 Milwaukee County Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
21 Nuremberg Zoo 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
22 Parque Zoológico de León - Zooleón 🇲🇽 Mexico In captivity
23 Dallas Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
24 Slimbridge Wetland Centre 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
25 Phoenix Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
26 Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
27 Wildlife World Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
28 São Paulo Zoo 🇧🇷 Brazil In captivity
29 Africam Safari 🇲🇽 Mexico In captivity
30 Louisville Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
31 Audubon Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
32 Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
33 Berlin Zoological Garden 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
34 Caldwell Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
35 Wrocław Zoological Garden 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
36 Temaikén 🇦🇷 Argentina In captivity
37 Bioparque 🇺🇾 Uruguay In captivity
38 Memphis Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
39 Metro Richmond Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
40 Zoológico Benito Juárez 🇲🇽 Mexico In captivity
41 Virginia Zoological Park 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
42 DierenPark Amersfoort 🇳🇱 Netherlands In captivity
43 Houston Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
44 Ljubljana Zoo 🇸🇮 Slovenia In captivity
45 San Antonio Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
46 Alipore Zoological Gardens 🇮🇳 India In captivity
47 Cologne Zoological Garden 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
48 Emirates Park Zoo 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates In captivity
49 Philadelphia Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
50 Ecopark 🇦🇷 Argentina In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Southern Screamer in Porto Alegre?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Screamer sighting in Porto Alegre on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 130th most-seen of the 159 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Southern Screamer in Porto Alegre?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Screamer in Porto Alegre on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Southern Screamer?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Screamer sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Porto Alegre the best place to see a Southern Screamer?

6th of 6

Of the 6 cities where we can rate Southern Screamer sightings, Porto Alegre ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Buenos Aires (Argentina, about 30%), Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolivia, about 20%) and Campo Grande (Brazil, under 5%).

Where does the Southern Screamer sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Southern Screamer is recorded against all the birds logged in Porto Alegre (12 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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