#cracid

Houston Zoo successfully hatches 2 rare Blue-billed Curassow chicks

The Houston Zoo successfully hatched two new Blue-billed Curassow chicks yesterday. Considered some of the most critically endangered birds, the Houston Zoo will be hand-rearing one chick (cared for by a person after hatching) and using the blue-billed curassow hen to parent-rear the other chick.

Bare-faced Curassow (Crax fasciolata)

...a species of Curassow (Crax spp.) which is native to eastern-central and southern Brazil, Paraguay, and eastern Bolivia. It is also known from extreme northeast Argentina, in the cerrado, pantanal, and the southeastern region of the Amazon basin. Bare-faced currassow typically inhabit areas of subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. They typically can be seen near the fringes of woodlands where they will feed in fruit and occasionally seeds, flowers, and small invertebrates. 

Classification

Animalia-Chordata-Aves-Galliformes-Cracidae-Crax-C. fasciolata

ABC Birds:  Blue-billed Currasow

It might look like a curly-headed turkey, but it’s a rare one. Only 250 to 500 birds now exist, primarily in a single site in Colombia.

This species is one of the birds closest to extinction in the Americas. It belongs to a group of large, ground-dwelling tropical birds that are closely related to turkeys.

Some say the birds are just as tasty as domestic turkeys, and unfortunately, harvesting the birds and eggs for food is an ongoing problem...

(read more: American Bird Conservancy)

Endangered Guan Chicks Hatched at Zoo

The Saint Louis Zoo announced that two critically endangered Horned Guan (Oreophasis derbianus) chicks hatched at the Zoo on August 7—the first for the Zoo and only the second recorded breeding of the species in the United States. 

(Learn more at ZooBorns)

Crested Guan (Penelope purpurascens)

...a large species of cracid that occurs from southern Mexico to western Ecuador and southern Venezuela. Like other cracids P. purpurascens is a social bird and is often seen in family groups of 6-12 individuals. These groups are fairly noisy and are heavy flies. Like other guans this species is arboreal and will feed almost exclusively on fruits and foliage.

Classification

Animalia-Chordata-Aves-Galliformes-Cracidae-Penelope-P. purpurascens 

Trinidad Piping Guan (Pipile pipile)

Also known as the common piping guan, the Trinidad piping guan is a critically endangered species of guan found only on the island of Trinidad in the Lesser Antilles. Like other guans the Trinidad piping guan is primarily arboreal and feeds almost exclusively on fruit and berries. They are usually active at dusk and will forage in groups of 3-5 individuals. The Trinidad piping guan is currently listed as critically endangered and are nearing extinction with only 200 individuals left.

Phylogeny

Animalia-Chordata-Aves-Galliformes-Cracidae-Pipile-pipile