Red-billed Curassow
Crax blumenbachii
The Red-billed Curassow (Crax blumenbachii) is a legendary guans, curassows, and chachalaca found only in Brazil, weighing about 3.5 kg. The red-billed curassow or red-knobbed curassow is an endangered species of cracid that is endemic to lowland Atlantic Forest in the states of Espírito Santo, Bahia and Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil.
About the Red-billed Curassow
The red-billed curassow or red-knobbed curassow is an endangered species of cracid that is endemic to lowland Atlantic Forest in the states of Espírito Santo, Bahia and Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil. Its population is decreasing due to hunting and deforestation, and it has possibly been extirpated from Minas Gerais. It is currently being reintroduced to Rio de Janeiro by means of individuals bred in captivity. As suggested by its common name, the male has a largely red bill, but this is lacking in the female.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The red-billed curassow is a large bird reaching a length of 82 to 92 centimetres (32 to 36 in). The male has pure black upper parts with a large black crest, and white underparts. There are bright red wattles and knobs at the base of the bill. The male can be distinguished from the wattled curassow (Crax globulosa) by being less bluish-black and from the black curassow (Crax alector) by being less purplish-black. The female lacks the wattles and has black upper parts, a black and white barred crest, reddish-brown wings barred and mottled with black, and reddish-brown or ochre underparts.
Where it lives
When to see it
Best months: January, February, March, April, May, July, August, September, October, November, with peak activity in October. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Red-billed Curassow?
- The red-billed curassow is a large bird reaching a length of 82 to 92 centimetres (32 to 36 in). Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Red-billed Curassow?
- The Red-billed Curassow is a huge sized bird weighing about 3.5 kg.
- Where can you see a Red-billed Curassow?
- The Red-billed Curassow is endemic to Brazil, which is the only country where it occurs.
- What birds look similar to a Red-billed Curassow?
- The Red-billed Curassow is most easily confused with the Yellow-knobbed Curassow, the Wattled Curassow and the Blue-billed Curassow.
- Is the Red-billed Curassow endangered?
- The Red-billed Curassow is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Red-billed Curassow for real
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