Download Pavón grande (Spanish) Crax rubra Class: Aves Order: Galliformes

Pavón grande (Spanish)
Crax rubra
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Cracidae
Genus: Crax
Photo by Christopher Gabbard
Distribution
From Tamilaupas state in
northeastern Mexico, it
ranges down the Caribbean
coast to Columbia. I it
continues down the Pacific
coast to Guayas province in
Ecuador.
In Costa Rica, the greatest chance of seeing this species is in
protected areas. In the Caribbean lowlands, sightings can be
expected at La Selva Biological Station and in Tortuguero
National Park. On the Pacific coast, national parks like Santa
Rosa, Rincón de la Vieja and Corcovado are haunts.
Habitat
Thick rainforest and humid
evergreen forest are its
most common habitats.
It can be found in mangroves. Although most reside at lower
elevations, great curassows have been found at 1,200 metres in
Costa Rica and 2,000 metres in Panama. Seasonally, it may
wander into drier forests in Costa Rica.
Food
Though primarily a
frugivore, the great
curassow is an
opportunistic feeder.
Reproduction
This is a monogamous
species. On approaching
the breeding season, which
is from March to May, they
form family groups of
adults and juveniles. The
male leads his group around
and begins to perform his
breeding display. He may
begin building a simple
nest.
It scratches through ground litter for fallen fruit including figs
and berries. It also eats leaves and occasionally picks off
grasshoppers, beetles and spiders. To make seeds and hard fruit
digestible, it swallows small stones that grind them up in the
gizzard. Primarily a ground feeder, it also grazes in the canopy.
A male starts his attention-grabbing courtship ritual by flaunting
his tail high in the air while he dips his head to pick up a pebble.
He then drops the pebble, tosses his head back, and beats his
wings with a whooshing sound. After squatting, he lets loose his
booming call. The bulbous yellow knob bulging out from the
male's cere enlarges during mating season.
Two eggs are laid in a small, loose conglomeration of twigs,
sticks and leaves on a forking branch three to six meters off the
ground. Both parents sit on the eggs for the 32-day incubation
period.
Development
Weighing just 120 grams at
birth, the hatchling puts on
weight quickly as both
parents supply protein-rich
bugs and small bits of meat.
By six months, it weighs
about 2.7 kilos, over half its
adult weight of 4.7 kilos.
A few hours after hatching, the mother leads her brood into the
bush. Primaries and secondaries develop quickly and the young
are trying out their wings by the third or fourth day. After three
weeks, they're ready to fly. They remain with their parents for
about eight months.
Characteristics
A large bird about a metre
tall, it's shaped like a turkey.
Both sexes are crowned
with a forward-curling
crest. Both have long, thick,
grey legs with large feet and
sharp claws for scratching
and climbing...
A dimorphic species. Males are glossy black except for the white
belly and undertail coverts. Females come in three morphs. All
share a crest barred black and white, and black upper necks
spotted with white. The dark morph of Central America has a
blackish lower neck, upper chest, and mantle. Tail is barred
black and white. Wing coverts are rufous. Primaries are dark
brown with white barring. Underparts are cinnamon. The rufous
morph of South America has a rufous body, and a tail barred
rufous and white. The barred morph of central Mexico and the
Yucatan has black and white barring on its lower neck, upper
chest and mantle. Remaining upperparts are barred various
shades of brown. Juvenile males resemble the dark-morph
female. Juvenile females resemble the morph of their mother
Adaptations
They have a variety of very
pronounced calls.
Wings are rounded and
blunt making flight
awkward... In order to fly, it
climbs to the canopy with
its strong claws. It then
glides from tree to tree
aided by powerful but
laboured wing beats.
In its repertoire of calls, the 'boom' is the most frequent. It's a
low-pitched, long 'uuuhm' that is just within human hearing
range. As a location call, it can penetrate dense rainforest and be
heard for some distance. Beginning before dawn, males repeat
the boom for thirty minutes to five hours. Other calls like yips,
barks and whistles are alarms. When with her young, the female
snarls at intruders and often follows with a distraction display.
More agile on the ground, it spends most of its day there
foraging in pairs or small groups. If threatened, it usually runs,
but sometimes seeks safety by flying up to a branch. Trees are
also used for roosting.
Status/Threats
IUCN: Vulnerable
In many areas these have
been over hunted by
humans. Predation of eggs
is common. Snakes and
birds of prey are amongst
.natural predators.
.
Sightings at Cano Palma
Currasows are seen fairly
frequently on the trails
around the station. They are
also occasionally observed
at the water’s edge by
boaters on the canal
When logging roads arrive, habitat is fragmented or destroyed,
and hunters gain access to poach this tasty game bird. Combined
with their low reproduction rate, great curassows can be quickly
extirpated from an area. More and more of the remaining
population exist in reserves. On the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa
Rica where great curassows had disappeared, a research project
reintroduced 110 birds. In 2008, the researchers concluded the
reintroduced population was "viable".
Canadian Organization for Tropical Education and Rainforest Conservation
www.coterc.org