The Camungo or anhuma(Anhima cornuta), also called aruco screamer, arauco, marsh vulture. It is an anseriform bird, of the family Anhimidae, that lives near bodies of water.
It is widely distributed in Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru.
Features
It is a large hen, 84 to 91 cm tall, with a weight ranging from 3 to 4 kg. It has a long neck and long legs. Its body has a blackish plumage, with greenish reflections.
Christoph – Public domain
The feathers on the neck and upper belly are white. It is remarkable the presence of a kind of horn on the forehead and spurs on the wings.
The tuft on the top of the head has a horny consistency. Its plumage is dark greenish black.
Camungo song
Its name is onamotope because of its song. It emits guttural sounds to demarcate its territory.
Behavior and reproduction
Héctor Bottai / CC BY SA
It lives in pairs or in groups, and is a monogamous species. It builds its nests near the water, where the female lays two to three eggs, which are incubated for a month. Its meat is not edible.
Dr. Rafael Cartay is a Venezuelan economist, historian, and writer best known for his extensive work in gastronomy, and has received the National Nutrition Award, Gourmand World Cookbook Award, Best Kitchen Dictionary, and The Great Gold Fork. He began his research on the Amazon in 2014 and lived in Iquitos during 2015, where he wrote The Peruvian Amazon Table (2016), the Dictionary of Food and Cuisine of the Amazon Basin (2020), and the online portal delAmazonas.com, of which he is co-founder and main writer. Books by Rafael Cartay can be found on Amazon.com
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