Black Curassow
A species of Curassows Scientific name : Crax alector Genus : Curassows
Black Curassow, A species of Curassows
Botanical name: Crax alector
Genus: Curassows
Content
Description General Info
Description
The black curassow is a large bird reaching about 900 millimetres (35 in) in length. The male has black upper parts glossed with a purplish sheen and an inconspicuous black crest. The skin at the base of the grey beak is yellow or orange but there are no knobs and wattles. The underparts are white. The female is similar but the crest is barred with white, and the juvenile is black, barred and mottled with reddish-brown and reddish-buff. 
Size
95 cm
Life Expectancy
24 years
Feeding Habits
Black Curassow consumes a varied diet including fruits, leaves, buds, and shoots. They also eat invertebrates and smaller vertebrates. Their foraging habit involves ground feeding and they exhibit a preference for certain fruits, indicating a unique adaptation in their diet.
Habitat
The black Curassow primarily inhabits humid terra firme and gallery forests, with a proclivity for thickets adjacent to rivers and the tangled edges of forests. This species adapts to various environments, including areas with clearings such as roadsides and old plantations, and is known to inhabit Vismia-dominated secondary growths. In certain regions, the black Curassow is associated with primary forest terrain, particularly favoring well-drained, hilly inland areas, selecting steeper slopes and hilltops. Seasonal changes influence habitat utilization; for instance, black Curassow may nest in várzea, riparian forests, and forage in slope forests rich with vines and bamboo. Although typically an inhabitant of lowland areas, the black Curassow can be found up to elevations of 1700 meters.
Dite type
Omnivorous
General Info
Behavior
The black curassow is a largely ground-dwelling bird. It lives in the undergrowth in lowland forests and plantations and in riverside thickets. It mostly eats fruit, but also consumes buds, shoots, leaves, flowers, fungi and invertebrates. It nests a few meters above the ground in trees, the nest being a platform of sticks. Breeding takes place in the rainy season in Suriname while in French Guiana, young are reported in March and September.
Species Status
Although the black curassow is fairly common, populations have been declining because of habitat loss, trapping and hunting. These threats are likely to continue, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature rates the bird's conservation status as "vulnerable".
Scientific Classification
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