Red-legged Seriema

The red-legged seriema /sɛriˈiːmə/ (Cariama cristata), also known as the crested cariama /kæriˈɑːmə/ and crested seriema, is a mostly predatory terrestrial bird in the seriema family (Cariamidae), included in the Gruiformes in the old paraphyletic circumscription but recently placed in a distinct order: Cariamiformes (along with three extinct families). The red-legged seriema is widely distributed in South America, occurring in central and eastern Brazil through eastern Bolivia and Paraguay to Uruguay and central Argentina (south to La Pampa). Like the black-legged seriema, farmers often use them as guard animals to protect poultry from predators and sometimes human intruders.