Helmeted curassow

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Helmeted curassow
Northern helmeted curassow,
Pauxi pauxi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Cracidae
Genus: Pauxi
Species:
P. pauxi
Binomial name
Pauxi pauxi
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Subspecies

Pauxi pauxi gilliardi Wetmore & Phelps, 1943
Pauxi pauxi pauxi (Linnaeus, 1766)

Synonyms

Crax pauxi Linnaeus, 1766

Peggy, the Northern Helmeted Curassow at the Denver Zoo, USA

The helmeted curassow (Pauxi pauxi) or northern helmeted curassow, is a large terrestrial bird in the family Cracidae found in the subtropical cloud-forest in steep, mountainous regions of western Venezuela and northern Colombia. There are two subspecies found in different mountain ranges. It is a mostly black bird with a white tip to its tail, a red bill and a distinctive grey casque on its forehead. The population of this bird is in decline and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as "endangered".

Description

Rufous morph female

It is a large terrestrial black

congener
is considered a distinct species P. unicornis.

Distribution

One of the largest birds in its

subcanopy, of the forest, where they are vulnerable to poachers during the dry season.[3]
The diet consists mainly of seeds, fruits, insects and small animals. The female lays two cream-colored eggs and incubates them for about 30 days.

Status

The helmeted curassow is listed on Appendix II of

Endangered status in 2008.[4]

Taxonomy

There are two subspecies:

  • Mérida helmeted curassow, Pauxi pauxi pauxi
Cordillera Oriental, Colombia
Casque larger, egg-shaped
  • Perijá helmeted curassow, Pauxi pauxi gilliardi
Serranía del Perijá
Casque smaller, less bulbous, rather cylindrical in shape.

Their evolutionary history is not well researched compared to other curassows. The helmeted curassows probably are a lineage of Late Miocene (Tortonian–Messinian, about 8–7 million years ago) origin. This species' present-day distribution suggests that it became isolated some 6 million years ago as its mountain range uplifted.[5] It is not known when gene flow between the subspecies ceased.

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22678497A92776062.en
    . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ISBN 0905062264
  3. ^
    S2CID 54671721
    .
  4. ^ a b "What's new (2007)". BirdLife International. 2007-08-28. Archived from the original on 2007-08-28. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  5. ISSN 1938-4254
    .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pauxi pauxi.
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