The Story
I photographed this Horned Screamer (Anhima cornuta) at the Hotel Campestre Resguardos de Paz, near El Paujil, Caquetá, Colombia, in February 2020. It is one of three screamers, relatives of ducks and geese with chicken-like bills. The horn on its crown is not a feather but a horny growth loosely attached to the skull, and it keeps growing while often breaking at the tip. It carries two sharp spurs on each wing. It feeds on water plants in swamps and marshes near rivers and lakes, and it rarely flies. IUCN lists it as Least Concern, with a stable population.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100, −1 EV. Farming and cattle ranching are El Paujil’s main livelihoods, and ranching is its longest-standing tradition.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Horned Screamer (Anhima cornuta) belongs to the family Anhimidae (Screamers) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List