Seriema

Seriema

Extinct relatives of the Seriema include the huge, meat-eating birds which lived in South America some 60 million years ago. Fossils from this same lineage include the bird known as the "Diatryma". These incredible relatives stood 8 ft in height and had a head the size of a donkey's. Much more modest in size the Seriema stands 2.5 ft in height and has relatively long legs and long neck. They have remarkably strong legs, and are able to run very quickly when disturbed. These weak fliers live in open grassland. Seriema live in South America. [BM] {FW}