Crax alector

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Cladus: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Cladus: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Cladus: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Classis/Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Subclassis/Parvclassis: Neornithes
Infraclassis/Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Pangalloanserae
Cladus: Galloanseres
Ordo: Galliformes
Subordo: Craci

Familia: Cracidae
Genus: Crax
Species: Crax alector
Subspecies: C. a. alector – C. a. erythrognatha
Name

Crax alector Linnaeus, 1766
References
Primary references

Linnaeus, C. 1766. Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (Regnum Animale). Editio duodecima (12th Ed.), reformata. Tomus 1 (Volume 1), Pars 1 (Part 1): 1–532. Holmiæ [Stockholm]. Impensis Direct Laurentii Salvii. Original description p. 269 BHL Reference page.

Additional references

Gines, H. & Aveledo, R. 1958: Aves de caza de Venezuela. Sociedad de Ciencias Naturales La Salle. Caracas. 239p.
Phelps, William H. Jr. & Meyer de Schauensee, Rodolphe 1978: Una guía de las Aves de Venezuela. Graficas Armitano C.A. Caracas. 484p.
La Marca, Enrique 1997: Vertebrados de Venezuela Actuales y fósiles. Museo de Ciencia y Tecnologia, Merida Venezuela 300p. ISBN 980-221-877-4

Links

IUCN: Crax alector (Vulnerable)

Vernacular names
العربية: قراز أسود
български: Черен кракс
català: Hoco becllarg
Cymraeg: Cwrasow du
English: Black Curassow
Esperanto: Blankapuga mutuo
français: Hocco alector
hrvatski: Crni hoko
magyar: Fekete hokkó
íslenska: Skúfhúkur
Nederlands: Zwarte hokko
Diné bizaad: Atseentélí diłhiłígíí
português: Mutumporanga
svenska: svarthocko

The black curassow (Crax alector), 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.[2] 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 (the area around the cloaca), and have a yellow (eastern part of its range) or orange-red (western part of its range) cere.
Taxonomy

There are two recognized subspecies:

C. a. alector (Linnaeus, 1766) - eastern Colombia and Venezuela south of the Orinoco River
C. a. erythrognatha (PL Sclater and Salvin, 1877) - extreme eastern Venezuela to the Guianas and Brazil north of the Amazon

Description

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.[3]
Behaviour

The black curassow is a largely ground-dwelling bird. It lives in the undergrowth in lowland forests and plantations and in riverside thickets. It mostly eats fruit, but also consumes buds, shoots, leaves, flowers, fungi and invertebrates. It nests a few meters above the ground in trees, the nest being a platform of sticks. Breeding takes place in the rainy season in Suriname while in French Guiana, young are reported in March and September.
Status

Although the black curassow is fairly common, populations have been declining because of habitat loss, trapping and hunting. These threats are likely to continue, but the International Union for Conservation of Nature rates the bird's conservation status as least concern.[1]
References

BirdLife International (2021). "Crax alector". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T22678534A193911793. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22678534A193911793.en. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
Long, John L. (1981). Introduced Birds of the World. Agricultural Protection Board of Western Australia, 21-493
Emmet Reid Blake (1 July 1977). Manual of Neotropical Birds. University of Chicago Press. p. 431. ISBN 978-0-226-05641-8.