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Abstract AvianPlasmodiumparasites can be pathogenic to their vertebrate hosts. Although cases of anaemia are frequently reported in parasitized birds, the potential damage caused by the parasite during the exoerythrocytic reproduction phase remains poorly investigated. Here, we report 2 individuals of red-legged seriemas (Cariama cristata) infected with 2 different lineages ofPlasmodium huffi, one of them exhibiting potential malarial-compatible tissue lesions in the spleen, liver, brain and lungs, alongside molecular confirmation of parasite presence in the spleen. Previously classified as specific to birds from the order Piciformes, this parasite has shown different associated lineages amplified across diverse host orders in South America (Anseriformes, Charadriiformes, Columbiformes, Galliformes, Pelecaniformes and Passeriformes). Those infections, however, were defined as abortive due to the absence of gametocytes visualized in blood smear slides. Herein, we confirmP. huffias a generalist parasite based on the first morphological characterization in the peripheral blood of a bird outside the Piciformes order. This is also the first morphological and molecular description of aPlasmodiumspecies in Cariamiformes. In addition to the morphological analyses, we have also proposed a novel phylogenetic hypothesis based on the partialcytbgene and the near-complete mitochondrial genome of this parasite. Our findings support that the division of the genusPlasmodiuminto subgenera is not monophyletic, asP.(Huffia) huffiand its associated lineages cluster more closely withPlasmodium(Haemamoeba) gallinaceumthan withPlasmodium(Huffia) elongatum.