Red-legged seriema Red-legged seriema The red-legged seriema ("Cariama cristata"), or crested cariama, is a mostly predatory terrestrial bird in the seriema family (Cariamidae), included in the Gruiformes in the old paraphyletic circumscription, but increasingly placed in a distinct order Cariamiformes (along with three extinct families). The red-legged seriema inhabits grasslands from Brazil south of the Amazon to Uruguay and northern Argentina. The area over which it occurs is estimated at 5.9 million km², though the bird is not found everywhere in this region of course. The species is absent from the Mata Atlântica and planalto uplands along the coast of Brazil. Unlike
Black-legged seriema foxes. Seriemas are very fierce, and they have been known to attack humans, especially when defending their young. Black-legged seriema The black-legged seriema ("Chunga burmeisteri") is one of two living species of seriemas in the family Cariamidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. The black-legged seriema is similar to its relative, the red-legged seriema, "Cariama cristata". However, the black-legged seriema is more arboreal than its cousin, and it prefers to spend more time in trees. They often live together in family groups, and