Black Curassow
Crax alector
Large, terrestrial rainforest bird; common and tame where not hunted. Note mostly black plumage, white belly, and yellow base of bill. Walks through forest feeding on arthropods and fallen fruit. When flushed, flies laboriously to low perch and looks back at observer. Frequently seen along roadsides and rivers. Roosts in forest canopy. Males often give low, booming song on moonlit nights.
Identification
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.
Taxonomy
There are two recognized subspecies:
- Scientific name
- Crax alector
- Authority
- Linnaeus, 1766
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Cracidae
- Genus
- Crax
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
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.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Maghreb Owl
Strix mauritanica
A medium-sized owl with deep black eyes, strictly nocturnal and infrequently seen. Gray to gray-brown overall with a big rounded head. Found at a broad range of elevations from sea level to high mountains, in woodland, forest, parkland, rocky areas, and sometimes towns and villages. Tends to roost well hidden in foliage during the day, when may be detected by tracking down the excited sound of small birds mobbing the owl. Comes out at night to hunt in clearings and more open areas. Most often detected by its quavering hoots and "kee-wik!" shrieks, given at night. Somewhat similar to Pharaoh Eagle-Owl, but smaller and grayer, with dark rather than yellow-orange eyes.
Pale-crested Woodpecker
Celeus lugubris
Distinctive woodpecker with a prominent pointed crest. Has a dark cinnamon-brown back scaled with yellow and a yellow rump. The flight feathers are barred cinnamon, and the underparts are dark rusty brown. The moustache stripe is red on males and brown on females. Found in areas with palms in semi-deciduous forest, savanna woodland, and dry Chaco woodland. Typical call is “wee-wee-week.”
Collared Sunbird
Hedydipna collaris
A tiny, short-billed sunbird with a metallic-green back and a yellow belly. The male has a green throat and a narrow purplish breast band; the female is duller, with a yellow throat and no breast band. Pairs frequent forest edge, woodland, and savanna, where they join mixed-species flocks to glean leaves and hover to catch insect prey. But they will also feed on fruit and nectar, often by piercing the base of a flower and sucking out nectar without pollinating. The “yellow-bellied” races of Variable Sunbird differ from Collared Sunbird by being larger, with a longer bill and broader purple-blue breast band.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.