Great curassow

Linnaeus
Great curassow
	Male
	Female
Conservation status
	; Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Cracidae
Genus:	Crax
Species:	C. rubra
Binomial name
	Crax rubra; Linnaeus, 1758
Subspecies
	Crax rubra rubraLinnaeus, 1758; common great curassow; Crax rubra griscomi Nelson , 1926; Cozumel great curassow;
Synonyms
	Crax chapmaniNelson, 1901 (barred morph female); Crax globicera(Linnaeus, 1758); Crax heckiReichenow, 1894 (barred morph female); Crax panamensisOgilvie-Grant, 1893;

Last updated June 01, 2024

The great curassow (Crax rubra) is a large, pheasant-like bird from the Neotropical rainforests, its range extending from eastern Mexico, through Central America to western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. Male birds are black with curly crests and yellow beaks; females come in three colour morphs, barred, rufous and black. These birds form small groups, foraging mainly on the ground for fruits and arthropods, and the occasional small vertebrate, but they roost and nest in trees. This species is monogamous, the male usually building the rather small nest of leaves in which two eggs are laid. This species is threatened by loss of habitat and hunting, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as "vulnerable".

Description

At 78–100 cm (31–39 in) in length and 3.1–4.8 kg (6.8–10.6 lb) in weight, this is a very large cracid.^[3]^[4] Females are somewhat smaller than males. It is the most massive and heavy species in the family but its length is matched by a few other cracids.^[3]^[5]^[6] Three other species of curassow (the northern helmeted, the southern helmeted, and the black are all around the same average length as the great curassow. In this species, standard measurements are as follows: the wing chord is 36 to 42.4 cm (14.2 to 16.7 in), the tail is 29 to 38 cm (11 to 15 in) and the tarsus is 9.4 to 12 cm (3.7 to 4.7 in). They have the largest mean standard measurements in the family, other than tail length.^[7]

The male is black with a curly crest, a white belly, and a yellow knob on its bill.^[3] There are three morphs of female great curassows:^[3] barred morph females with barred neck, mantle, wings and tail; rufous morph with an overall reddish brown plumage and a barred tail; and dark morph female with a blackish neck, mantle and tail (the tail often faintly vermiculated), and some barring to the wings. In most regions only one or two morphs occur, and females showing a level of intermediacy between these morphs are known (e.g. resembling rufous morph, but with black neck and faint vermiculations to the wings).

This species has a similar voice to several other curassows, its call consisting of a "peculiar" lingering whistle.^[7]

Ecology

A monogamous species, the great curassow is distributed in rainforest from eastern Mexico throughout Central America, to western Colombia and northwest Ecuador.^[3] In Mexico, it is absent from drier western coastal forests but does occasionally occur in dry areas of the Yucatan, Cozumel Island and Costa Rica. The great curassow spends much of its time on the ground, but nests and roosts in trees. This species is gregarious, occurring in groupings of up to a dozen birds, though occasionally birds can be seen alone. Its diet consists mainly of fruits, figs and arthropods. Small vertebrates may supplement the diet on occasion, including small mammals (such as rodents). Unlike other cracids, such as guans, they feed largely on fallen fruit rather than pluck fruit directly from the trees. In Tamaulipas, it feeds largely on the fruit Spondias mombin . Elsewhere, it may prefer the red berries of Chione trees.^[7]

The male great curassow may build the nest and attract a female's attention to it, though in other cases both members of a pair will build the nest structure. Two eggs are typically laid in a relatively small nest (usually made largely of leaves), each egg measuring 9.1 cm × 6.7 cm (3.6 in × 2.6 in) and weighing 200 g (7.1 oz). The young curassow weighs 123 g (4.3 oz) upon hatching; 2,760 g (6.08 lb) as a half-year-old immature fledgling; and by a year of age, when fully fledged and independent of parental care, will be about three-quarters of their adult weight at 3,600 g (7.9 lb). This species has been noted for its rather aggressive temperament, which has been regularly directed at humans when the birds are held in captivity. Undoubtedly, they have this inclination in order to repel natural predators, from both themselves and their offspring. Known natural predators of this species have included ocelots and ornate hawk-eagles, though chicks and eggs likely have a broader range of predators. When a potential predator is near their offspring, curassows have been noted to engage in a distraction display, feigning injury. When attacking humans, the curassows leap in fluttering flight and scratch about the head, targeting the eyes. Their lifespan in captivity has reached at least 24 years.^[7]

Evolution

The great curassow is the most northerly Crax species. It is part of a clade that inhabited the north of South America since about 9 mya (Tortonian, Late Miocene). As the Colombian Andes were uplifted around 6 mya, this species' ancestors were cut off from the population to their southeast. The latter would in time evolve into the blue-billed curassow. The ancestral great curassows then spread along the Pacific side of the Andes, and into Central America during the Pliocene and Pleistocene ^[8] as part of the Great American Interchange.

Status

Due to ongoing habitat loss and overhunting in some areas, the great curassow is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.^[1] It is listed on Appendix III of CITES in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Colombia and Honduras. Of the smaller subspecies C. r. griscomi of Cozumel Island, only a few hundred remain. Its population seems either to have been slowly increasing since the 1980s, or to be fluctuating at a low level; it is vulnerable to hurricanes.^[3]

This species has proven to produce fertile hybrids with its closest living relative, the blue-billed curassow, and also with the much more distantly related black curassow.^[3]

In Mexico, there are Unidades de Manejo para la Conservación de la Vida Silvestre [Management Units for the Conservation of Wildlife] (UMAs) who are breeding great curassows in captivity.^[9]

Related Research Articles

The chachalacas, guans and curassows are birds in the family Cracidae. These are species of tropical and subtropical Central and South America. The range of one species, the plain chachalaca, just reaches southernmost parts of Texas in the United States. Two species, the Trinidad piping guan and the rufous-vented chachalaca occur on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago respectively.

Curassows are one of the three major groups of cracid birds. They comprise the largest-bodied species of the cracid family. Three of the four genera are restricted to tropical South America; a single species of Crax ranges north to Mexico. They form a distinct clade which is usually classified as the subfamily Cracinae.

The rufous-vented chachalaca is a member of an ancient group of birds of the family Cracidae, which are related to the Australasian mound builders. It inhabits northeast Colombia and northern Venezuela where it is called guacharaca, and the island of Tobago in Trinidad and Tobago where it is known as the cocrico and is one of the country's two national birds. It is also found on Bequia and Union Island in the Grenadines where it may have been introduced.

Crax is a genus of curassows in the order Galliformes, a clade of large, heavy-bodied, ground-feeding birds. They are known from tropical South America with one species, the great curassow, ranging northwards through Central America as far as Mexico. The curassows in this genus are noted for their sexual dimorphism; males are more boldly coloured than females and have facial ornamentation such as knobs and wattles. They are also characterised by curly crests and contrastingly-coloured crissa. Crax curassows probably originated as a distinct lineage during the Late Miocene. During the Messinian, the ancestral Crax split into two lineages separated by the Colombian Andes and the Cordillera de Mérida which uplifted at that time. The northern lineage radiated into the great, blue-billed, and yellow-knobbed curassows, while the four southern species evolved as they became separated by the uplifting of various mountain ranges.

The ornate hawk-eagle is a fairly large bird of prey from the tropical Americas. Formerly, some authorities referred to this species as the crested hawk-eagle, a name that may cause some confusion as it is more commonly used for an Asian eagle species. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae. This species has a feathered tarsus that marks it as a member of the Aquilinae or booted eagle subfamily. This species is notable for the vivid colors and bold markings of adults, which differ considerably from the far more whitish plumage of the juvenile bird. The ornate hawk-eagle ranges from central Mexico south through much of Central America and in a somewhat spotty but broad overall range into South America, including in the west apart from the Andes and broadly on the Atlantic side especially Brazil down to as far as Southeast Brazil and northern Argentina. This species is found largely in primary forests with tall trees, although can be found in many forest types.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helmeted curassow</span> Species of bird

The helmeted curassow or northern helmeted curassow, is a large terrestrial bird in the family Cracidae found in the subtropical cloud-forest in steep, mountainous regions of western Venezuela and northern Colombia. There are two subspecies found in different mountain ranges. It is a mostly black bird with a white tip to its tail, a red bill and a distinctive grey casque on its forehead. The population of this bird is in decline and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as "endangered".

The Alagoas curassow is a glossy-black, pheasant-like bird. It was formerly found in forests in Northeastern Brazil in what is now the states of Pernambuco and Alagoas, which is the origin of its common name. It is now extinct in the wild; there are about 130 individuals in captivity.

The wattled curassow is a threatened member of the family Cracidae, the curassows, guans, and chachalacas. It is found in remote rainforests in the western Amazon basin in South America. Males have black plumage, except for a white crissum, with curly feathers on the head and red bill ornaments and wattles. Females and juveniles are similar but lack the bill ornamentation and have a reddish-buff crissum area. The wattled curassow is the most ancient lineage of the southern Crax curassows. In captivity, it sometimes hybridises with the blue-billed curassow.

The horned guan is an endangered species in an ancient group of birds of the family Cracidae, which are related to the Australasian megapodes or mound builders (Megapodiidae). It is found in Mexico, Guatemala, and possibly Honduras.

The red-billed curassow or red-knobbed curassow is an endangered species of cracid that is endemic to lowland Atlantic Forest in the states of Espírito Santo, Bahia and Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil. Its population is decreasing due to hunting and deforestation, and it has possibly been extirpated from Minas Gerais. It is currently being reintroduced to Rio de Janeiro by means of individuals bred in captivity. As suggested by its common name, the male has a largely red bill, but this is lacking in the female.

The blue-billed curassow is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is endemic to Colombia.

The black curassow, also known as the smooth-billed curassow and the crested curassow, is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in humid forests in northern South America in Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas including Suriname, and far northern Brazil, and is introduced to Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Lesser Antilles. It is the only Crax curassow where the male and female cannot be separated by plumage, as both are essentially black with a white crissum, and have a yellow or orange-red cere.

The yellow-knobbed curassow is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.

The bare-faced curassow is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, curassows, etc. It is found in Brazil, Paraguay, and eastern Bolivia, and extreme northeast Argentina, in the cerrado, pantanal, and the southeastern region of the Amazon basin. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.

Salvin's curassow is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

The crestless curassow is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, and Venezuela.

The nocturnal curassow is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

The horned curassow, or southern helmeted curassow, is a species of bird in the family Cracidae found in humid tropical and subtropical forests. It was first described by James Bond and Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee in 1939 from a specimen collected in Bolivia, and further birds that were described from Peru in 1971 were thought to be a new subspecies. However, the taxonomical position of the birds found in Peru in 1971 is unclear. The horned curassow as originally described is endemic to Bolivia. It is a large, predominantly black bird with a distinctive casque on its forehead. It is an uncommon bird with a limited range and is suffering from habitat loss, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being "critically endangered".

The plain-breasted hawk is a small hawk described from Venezuela to western Bolivia. It is usually considered a subspecies of the sharp-shinned hawk by most taxonomists, including the American Ornithological Society, but the taxonomy is far from resolved, with some authorities considering the southern taxa to represent three separate species: white-breasted hawk, plain-breasted hawk, and rufous-thighed hawk.

The Sira curassow is a species of bird in the family Cracidae. It is found in the Cerros del Sira in central Peru. Its natural habitat is tropical, moist, montane cloud forest.

References

1 2 BirdLife International (2020). "Crax rubra". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22678521A178001922. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22678521A178001922.en . Retrieved 14 November 2021.
↑ del Hoyo, Josep; Kirwan, Guy M. (2020). "Great Curassow (Crax rubra)". In Del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Sargatal, Jordi; Christie, David; De Juana, Eduardo (eds.). Great Curassow Crax rubra. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. doi:10.2173/bow.grecur1.01. S2CID 242884761 . Retrieved 16 May 2015.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A.; Sargatal, J., eds. (1994). "Plate 33". 44. Great Curassow. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2 (New World Vultures to Guineafowl). Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. p. 359. ISBN 978-84-87334-15-3.
↑ Arion, Frank Martinus (Summer 1998). "The Great Curassow or the Road to Caribbeanness". Callaloo . 21 (3, Caribbean Literature from Suriname, The Netherlands Antilles, Aruba, and The Netherlands: A Special Issue). Johns Hopkins University Press: 447–452. doi:10.1353/cal.1998.0127. JSTOR 3299577. S2CID 161491776.
↑ Restall; Rodner; Lentino (2006). Birds of Northern South America. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-7243-9 (vol. 1). ISBN 0-7136-7242-0 (vol. 2).
↑ Burton, Maurice; Burton, Robert (2002). International Wildlife Encyclopedia. Marshall Cavendish Corporation, Jan 1, 2002. ISBN 9780761472667.
1 2 3 4 Hughes, Nigel (2006). Curassows, Guans and Chachalacas. UK: Wildside Books. ISBN 978-0905062266.
↑ Pereira, Sérgio Luiz; Baker, Allan J. (2004). "Vicariant speciation of curassows (Aves, Cracidae): a hypothesis based on mitochondrial DNA phylogeny". Auk (in English and Spanish). 121 (3): 682–694. doi: 10.1642/0004-8038(2004)121[0682:VSOCAC]2.0.CO;2 . S2CID 86320083.
↑ Aguilar, Héctor F.; Rivera Guzmán, Roberto A. (2002). "Biología Reproductiva del Hocofaisan Crax rubra rubra Linnaeus 1758, Craciformes: Cracidae) en México, Análisis Químico y Estudio Morfológico de la Cáscara de Huevo" [Breeding Biology of Great Curassow, Crax Rubra Rubra Linnaeus 1758 (Craciformes: Cracidae) in Captivity in Mexico, Chemical Analysis and Morphological Study of Eggshell]. Zoocriaderos (in Spanish). 4 (2): 1–33. ISSN 0798-7811.

External links

BirdLife species factsheet for Crax rubra
Great curassow stamps ^[usurped] from British Honduras (now Belize), El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico at www.bird-stamps.org ^[usurped]
Great curassow photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
Great curassow female photo at tropicalhardwoods.com
"Crax rubra". Avibase.
"Great curassow media". Internet Bird Collection .
Great curassow species account at Neotropical Birds (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Audio recordings of Great curassow on Xeno-canto .
Crax rubra in Field Guide: Birds of the World on Flickr
great-curassow/crax-rubra Great curassow media from ARKive

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[iucn_status_14_November_2021-1] 1 2 BirdLife International (2020). "Crax rubra". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22678521A178001922. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22678521A178001922.en . Retrieved 14 November 2021.

[HBWonline-2] Hoyo, Josep; Kirwan, Guy M. (2020). "Great Curassow (Crax rubra)". In Del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Sargatal, Jordi; Christie, David; De Juana, Eduardo (eds.). Great Curassow Crax rubra. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. doi:10.2173/bow.grecur1.01. S2CID 242884761 . Retrieved 16 May 2015.

[HBW-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A.; Sargatal, J., eds. (1994). "Plate 33". 44. Great Curassow. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2 (New World Vultures to Guineafowl). Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. p. 359. ISBN 978-84-87334-15-3.

[Arion1998-4] Arion, Frank Martinus (Summer 1998). "The Great Curassow or the Road to Caribbeanness". Callaloo . 21 (3, Caribbean Literature from Suriname, The Netherlands Antilles, Aruba, and The Netherlands: A Special Issue). Johns Hopkins University Press: 447–452. doi:10.1353/cal.1998.0127. JSTOR 3299577. S2CID 161491776.

[Restall2006-5] Restall; Rodner; Lentino (2006). Birds of Northern South America. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-7243-9 (vol. 1). ISBN 0-7136-7242-0 (vol. 2).

[largest-6] Burton, Maurice; Burton, Robert (2002). International Wildlife Encyclopedia. Marshall Cavendish Corporation, Jan 1, 2002. ISBN 9780761472667.

[Hughes-7] 1 2 3 4 Hughes, Nigel (2006). Curassows, Guans and Chachalacas. UK: Wildside Books. ISBN 978-0905062266.

[Pereira2004-8] Pereira, Sérgio Luiz; Baker, Allan J. (2004). "Vicariant speciation of curassows (Aves, Cracidae): a hypothesis based on mitochondrial DNA phylogeny". Auk (in English and Spanish). 121 (3): 682–694. doi: 10.1642/0004-8038(2004)121[0682:VSOCAC]2.0.CO;2 . S2CID 86320083.

[Aguilar2002-9] Aguilar, Héctor F.; Rivera Guzmán, Roberto A. (2002). "Biología Reproductiva del Hocofaisan Crax rubra rubra Linnaeus 1758, Craciformes: Cracidae) en México, Análisis Químico y Estudio Morfológico de la Cáscara de Huevo" [Breeding Biology of Great Curassow, Crax Rubra Rubra Linnaeus 1758 (Craciformes: Cracidae) in Captivity in Mexico, Chemical Analysis and Morphological Study of Eggshell]. Zoocriaderos (in Spanish). 4 (2): 1–33. ISSN 0798-7811.

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