Bird Guide

Black Curassow

Crax alector

Least ConcernFruitForestPlatform nestHuge · 2.9 kg

About the Black Curassow

The black curassow, also known as the smooth-billed curassow and the crested curassow, is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in humid forests in northern South America in Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas including Suriname, and far northern Brazil, and is introduced to Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Lesser Antilles. It is the only Crax curassow where the male and female cannot be separated by plumage, as both are essentially black with a white crissum, and have a yellow or orange-red cere.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

ID tip

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.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where the Black Curassow lives

Regular range

When to see the Black Curassow

Peak activity in February · a resident species across most of its range

Easily confused with

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