APPEARANCE
The wattled curassow (Crax globulosa) is a large bird, about the size of a turkey. Its most prominent feature is a
well-developed curly crest of head feathers. It is mostly black with white tail feathers underneath black tail
feathers (coverts).
The bill is black, with an orange to red knob that extends down to form a hanging wattle.
It signals with a high-pitched call.
There are about 12 kinds of curassows found in Amazonia.
HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION
During the dry season this species concentrates around slow-moving water-lakes, backwaters and sluggish streams.
It is found in the southwestern Amazon River basin, only in lowland tropical forest, mostly along rivers and lake edges.
In the wild, no individual has been found more than 1000 ft from the edge of a river, particularly in varzea forest.
Studies of the bird's habitat suggest that it is restricted to flooded forest, so its population may have been
underestimated, and may be vlunerable to human settlement along rivers.
FEEDING AND DIET
This species is a specialist forager along river banks and water edges, feeding in shallow flooded ground for small
animals such as fish, insects, aquatic crustaceans. It may also eat fruit. During the wet season, they feed on
canopy fruit and seeds, often in terra firme forest.
It seems somewhat more arboreal than other curassows, and is most often seen in trees rather than on the ground.
BREEDING
The female lays two eggs, nesting in June. Chicks have been observed in July, but otherwise, little is known about
the breeding habits of this species.
CONSERVATION
According to the IUCN red List, this species is considered vulnerable. However, it's hard to get population estimates
are hindered because the bird tends to stay in trees, where it's hard to spot.
This species is undergoing rapid declines in range and population as a result of hunting for food. To a lesser
extent, habitat loss is also a threat. The total population is suspected to be small and consist of very small
subpopulations.
Hunting is the main threat to this species, while habitat loss contributes to population declines. CITES restrictions
imposed in 1971 decreased the losses when fur hunters gave up hunting the species.
Some conservation measures are underway, and the bird is protected in several reserves in Brazil, Peru and Bolivia.
However, hunting still occurs, and conservation measures are difficult to enforce.
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