Scientific Classification

Common Name

wattled curassow, red-wattled curassow

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Galliformes

Family

Cracidae

Genus Species

Crax (screamer) globulosa (ball or globe)

Fast Facts

Description

The curassow is a large, mostly black, terrestrial bird. The male is black with curled crest feathers and a white vent. They have a black bill with reddish or yellow cere, bill knob and hanging wattle. Females are black with a rufous vent, black bill and red cere.

Size

82 to 89 cm (2.9 ft.)

Weight

2.5 kg (5.5 lbs.)

Diet

These birds forage for small fish, insects, aquatic crustaceans, other small animals and fruit.

Incubation

30 to 32 days

Clutch Size

2 to 6 eggs

Life Span

20 to 25 years

Range

The curassow used to be widespread in the upper Amazon but now is limited to small, isolated populations in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru.

Habitat

These birds inhabit tropical lowland, riverine and humid forests.

Population

This species has a very small population and has experienced a rapid population decline. Currently, there are estimated to be 320 individuals in Colombia, 100 to 150 in Bolivia, less than 300 in Peru, and at least 250, maybe as many as 1,000 individuals in Brazil. Scientists believe that there are at least 250 to 1,000 mature individuals. The population is decreasing but is not severely fragmented.

Status 

IUCN: Endangered
CITES: Appendix III
USFWS: Not Listed

Fun Facts

These birds sleep high in the forest canopy at night.

The male has brilliantly colored knobs and wattles that are used in mating displays.

The males make a low-pitched booming sound and emit a high, descending whistle “wheeeeeeeee.”

Ecology and Conservation

Amazonian rivers are the routes for colonization, development, hunting, and transport in the region. Hunting, whether commercial, subsistence (or by loggers is the main threat, with habitat loss contributory. The wattled curassow is more vulnerable to hunting than many other birds as it is restricted to water edge habitats that are easily reached by the human population.
Scientists agree that natural predators are not a significant source of population decline for this species.

Scientists agree that natural predators are not a significant source of population decline for this species.

Bibliography

Hilty, S. and W. Brown. A Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Princeton Univ. Press, NJ, 1986.

Perrins, C.M. and Alex Middleton. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Birds. New York: Prentice Hall Press, 1990.

angelfire.com/ca6/cracid/cracids/crax_globulosa.html

BirdLife International. 2016. Crax globulosa. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22678537A92777596. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22678537A92777596.en. Downloaded on 27 November 2018.