It contains one living species, the black-legged seriema. The black-legged seriema is similar to its relative, the red-legged seriema, "Cariama cristata". The red-legged seriema prefers grassland habitat to any other. The black-legged seriema ("Chunga burmeisteri") is found in northwest Argentina and Paraguay. Ecologically, the seriema is the South American counterpart of the African secretary bird.