Great curassow

Great curassow
Male
Female
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Cracidae
Genus:	Crax
Species:	C. rubra
Binomial name
Crax rubra Linnaeus, 1758
Subspecies
Crax rubra rubra Linnaeus, 1758 common great curassow Crax rubra griscomi Nelson, 1926[2] Cozumel great curassow
Synonyms
Crax chapmani Nelson, 1901 (barred morph female) Crax globicera (Linnaeus, 1758) Crax hecki Reichenow, 1894 (barred morph female) Crax panamensis Ogilvie-Grant, 1893

The great curassow (Crax rubra) is a large, pheasant-like bird from the Neotropical rainforests, its range extending from eastern Mexico, through Central America to western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. Male birds are black with curly crests and yellow beaks; females come in three colour morphs, barred, rufous and black. These birds form small groups, foraging mainly on the ground for fruits and arthropods, and the occasional small vertebrate, but they roost and nest in trees. This species is monogamous, the male usually building the rather small nest of leaves in which two eggs are laid. This species is threatened by loss of habitat and hunting, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as "vulnerable".