Great Curassow

A monogamous species, the Great Curassow is distributed in rainforest from eastern Mexico throughout Central America, to western Colombia and northwest Ecuador. Its diet consists mainly of fruits, figs and arthropods.

The Great Curassow is classified as Vulnerable (VU), considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.

The Great Curassow (Crax rubra) is a large, black pheasant-like bird with a yellow knob on its bill, curly black feather crests, and white below. Together with a few other curassows, it is the largest member of the family Cracidae, at 78–92 cm (30–34 in) and a weight of up to 4.8 kg (10.5 lbs). More

The great curassow is a magnificent bird, so named for its conspicuous size of almost a metre tall (2). The striking species is instantly recognisable by the tousled crest of forward-curling feathers that adorn the length of its crown, and its vivid yellow bill with a bulbous yellow knob at the base that swells and brightens at the height of the breeding season (4) (5) (6). More

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. More

The Great curassow can grow up to 40 inches. They are a game bird which has similarities to a chicken. It is hunted for its meat, which tastes very good. The Great curassow builds its nest in trees. It is a poor flier. Much of the time it spends on the ground scratching around for food, just like a chicken. More

A monogamous species, the Great Curassow is distributed in rainforest from eastern Mexico throughout Central America, to western Colombia and northwest Ecuador. Its diet consists mainly of fruits, figs and arthropods. The Great Curassow is the most northernly 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. More

Of the two large cracids of the region Great Curassow is reported with much greater frequency, which is to say every two to three years or so. This species diappears rapidly in the face of any human incursion into forested areas, and is likely hanging on by a thread in its Panamanian range. Sporadic reports in the last decade have come from Gamboa, Cerro Jefe, and Pipeline Road. More

Cracids, the Great Curassow is well established in captivity. - Images Click on thumbnails for larger views. 1 2 3 Photo Credits (l to r): 1-3, Roman Kmicikewycz. - Bibliography and Further Reading * Delacour, J. & Amadon, D. 1973. Curassows and Related Birds. American Museum. Natural History, New York City, NY. More

the great curassow (Crax rubra), found from Mexico to Ecuador; the helmeted curassow (Pauxi pauxi), of the Venezuelan and Colombian mountains; and the critically endangered razor-billed curassow (C. mitu), of the Amazon. For more information on curassow, visit Britannica.com. More

ancestral Great Curassows then spread along the Pacific side of the Andes, and into Central America during the Pliocene and Pleistocene.(Pereira & Baker 2004) Ecology Due to ongoing habitat lost and overhunting in some areas, the Great Curassow is evaluated as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix III of CITES in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Colombia and Honduras. Of the subspecies griscomi of Cozumel Island with its distinct female, only a few hundred remain. More

The Great Curassow is about 95 centimeters long (37″); the male is predominately black, with a crested head; the ventral area is whitish and there is a yellow protuberance on the upper jaw of the beak. The female’s plumage is rust-brown or yellowish, and there is no protuberance; she has a crest with black and white markings on the head. More

Great Curassow male Immature Great Pootoo Anhinga and nest Amazon Kingfisher Bare-throated Tiger Heron Bare-throated Tiger Heron with dinner Click to view the next photo photographer Ed Rotberg. More

The great curassow, found from Mexico to Ecuador, reaches a length of 38 inches (97 cm). The male is shiny black with white underparts, He has a yellow bill with a fleshy protuberance at its base. The female is dull brown with white bars on the feathers. Curassows belong to the family Cracidae. The great curassow is Crax rubra . Related TopicsPeacock Peacock, or Peafowl, a large bird of the pheasant family. Properly, the peacock is the male, penhen the female. More