#anhimidae

Horned Screamer (Anhima cornuta), family Anhimidae, order Anseriformes, Colombia

Mainly herbivorous waterfowl, in the same order as ducks and geese, but in a different family.

Screamers prefer to walk/wade through their habitats, instead of swimming. They can swim, but are not as proficient as ducks and geese.

Obviously, the call is a loud scream like noise.

Horned? Check. Screamer? Definitely. The horned screamer is named for both the thin keratin 'horn' that grows from the top of its head and its loud, whooping call which can be heard over 3 km (1.8 mi) away!

(Image: A horned screamer (Anhima cornuta) by Bradley Hacker)

As a bonus, check out the horned screamer's unique call below:

"The fact that the universe saw fit to let this thing exist" "horn, prominent spurs on wings, "The most peculiar feature of the screamers is a skin filled with small bubbles of air about a quarter of an inch thick, which produce a crackling sound when pressed; the function of this layer of air bubbles is unknown.""

Hey these guys are ducks! No I'm not lying- they're ducks! They belong to the same order as ducks, geese, and swans! What the fuck!

While my surface level digging did not confirm this, my thought is that screamers represent a branch in anseriformes where the ducks had recently split from gamebirds in galliformes, but hadnt yet specialized to have their spatulate bills. I'm not a source to quote on this though, as the paleontological record is a bit hazy for screamers.

For some actual facts: their horn is not a modified feather or something adjacent, but is "a cornified structure loosely attached to the skull, which frequently breaks off at the tip." They eat water plants but only have partially webbed feet. They have wing spurs. Despite being 8lb (3.5kg) birds, they nest on floating vegetation. What the heck is going on with these guys??

Sources:

Horned Screamer (Anhima cornuta)