curassow

curassow (kyûr`əsō'), common name for the largest members of an order of game birds called pigeon-toed fowls, which includes the white-crested guan and the rufous-bellied chachalaca, Ortalis wagleri. These gregarious roosting birds, found from Texas to Argentina, vary from 20 to 40 in. (50–100 cm) in length and are brownish to olive-green in color. They feed on fruit, vegetation, and insects. Curassows are larger than other members of the family and have an erect crest and bright orange or yellow bills. The great curassow, Crax rubra, is found from Mexico to Ecuador. The meat of these birds is a delicacy. Although none are found in the Dutch West Indies, their name is taken from the island of Curaçao. They are easily tamed. Curassows are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Galliformes, family Cracidae.

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curassow

Southern helmeted curassow (Crax unicornis)

(credit: Albert E. Gilbert)

Any of numerous tropical American bird species (family Cracidae); strictly defined, one of 7–12 species in which the male is glossy black and has a curled crest of feathers and a brightly coloured bill ornament. The smaller female is brownish and unornamented. Curassows have delicious flesh and are hunted as game. Large species (measuring up to nearly 40 in. [100 cm] long) include the great curassow (Crax rubra), found from Mexico to Ecuador; the helmeted curassow (Pauxi pauxi), of the Venezuelan and Colombian mountains; and the critically endangered razor-billed curassow (C. mitu), of the Amazon.