Beauty Of Western Ecuador | Great Curassow | Gish Blog

 

> Kingdom: Animalia
> Phylum: Chordata
> Class: Aves
> Order: Galliformes
> Family: Cracidae
> Genus: Crax
> Species: C. rubra  

The name curassow comes from the island of Curacao, which is located in the Caribbean, where Europeans first discovered the bird.

Anatomy:

The great curassow is a 36-inch tall, hearty bird. All great curassows have a peak of forward-curling feathers on their heads, and long tails. The base of the great curassow's bill is yellow with a round bulge. The coloring of the females varies; they can be black or chestnut-colored with black or white bars and their heads and crest may be striped with black and white. The males are a lustrous blue or black, and have white bellies.

Lifecycle:

Being a very poor flier, the great curassow uses its long legs to forage for food on the ground and flee for safety into the deep cover of its forest home. They have long lifespans up to 24 years! and a low rate of reproduction.

The curassow’s courtship ritual involves a series of sequenced movements. The male adopts a display posture, leaning forward with his breast very low to the ground. He then raises his head and tail and fluffs out his white abdomen feathers. He may stop to pick up a pebble and then toss his head back; he then drops the pebble before making the booming call. Following these displays, the female will enter his territory. Pairs are monogamous and breed from late winter to spring, depending on the region. Both sexes build an untidy nest of twigs and leaves in a bush or tree, no more than 6′ above the ground. There, the female lays her two eggs, which she incubates for 32 days with the male remaining nearby. Since the young are born with well-developed flight feathers, they are ready to leave the nest within a few hours.

Habitat:

While the range of the great curassow extends from southern Mexico to western Ecuador, their habitat is usually limited to national parks and reserves. They build their nests of leaves and twigs in the forks and depressions of trees. The male curassow leads his family and whistles when there are signs of danger. Females lay two eggs at a time. Curassows are monogamous and travel in pairs or in small groups. The group can communicate by grunting. Like chickens, they tend to run rather than fly.

Diet:

The curassow finds its food by foraging on fallen fruits, berries and seeds. Additionally they may scrape the ground in search of insects or small animals.

Threats:

Deforestation of tropical forests is the major threat to the survival of the great curassow. Humans are a direct threat to the great curassow because the local inhabitants hunt them for food. Besides humans, snakes are also their predators.

Conservation:

Though not globally threatened, the great curassow is disappearing because of loss of habitat to the logging business; the bird is also hunted for its high-quality meat. However, healthy populations exist in protected national parks and reserves.

One female great curassow that was kept in captivity actually continued breeding until age 23.
The great curassow is actually a relative of the domestic chicken, and is a prized game bird.