Cracidae Guans, Chachalacas, and Curassows
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Introduction
Cracids are large and elegant birds of Neotropical woodlands and forests. Highly prized as game fowl, they are often the first birds to disappear once “civilization” has arrived. As a result, they tend to be quite shy, and encountering a lingering curassow on a forest trail can be the highlight of any morning afield. With a diversity of body shapes, the silhouettes of many species are accented by intricate crests or strange horns or casques. The calls and noises produced by these birds, from the syncopated cacophony of chachalacas at dawn to the strange night-time booms and mechanical rattles of guans, are a major part of the soundscape in all Neotropical woodlands.
Habitat
Cracids occupy a wide variety of habitats, including tropical lowland rainforest, arid scrub, and montane forest. Curassows and guans spend time on the ground, but most cracids are primarily arboreal.
Diet and Foraging
Cracids feed on a wide variety of fruits, seeds, leaves, and flowers with a small proportion of insects.
Breeding
The breeding biology of the cracids is still poorly understood. Most were long thought to be monogamous, though some of the curassows and guans now appear to be polygynous. Cracid nests are typically platforms made of sticks, leaves, vines, and other vegetation; rarely are nests placed on the ground. Nests often appear flimsy and too small for the large birds that make them. Both male and female cracids construct the nest, although males are usually observed building the majority of the time. Cracids typically lay 1 to 4 eggs, and only the female incubates. Male roles in parental care vary: most curassow and guan males do little if anything for the chicks, but chachalaca males participate fully in their care. The chicks hatch synchronously after 24 to 34 days of incubation and are quite precocial at hatching, most leaving the nest and clambering around in branches within a couple days of hatching. Most are fluttering among branches within a few days more. The chicks are fed at first by the parents, but gradually feed themselves more and more, finally reaching independence months after hatching.
Conservation Status
Habitat destruction across Central and South America poses a major threat, but hunting is probably most responsible for population declines in 28 cracid species (50%; 5 NT, 9 VU, 7 EN, 6 CR, 1 EW). There is hope that the Alagoas Curassow Mitu mitu, which survives only in captivity, will eventually be reintroduced. Critically endangered species include Blue-billed Curassow Crax alberti (found in several widely separated locations in Colombia), Trinidad Piping-guan Pipile pipile (endemic to a small fragment of forest in Trinidad), and White-winged Guan Penelope albipennis (found in a narrow range of dry forest in Peru).
Systematics History
Cracids have long been considered to be a particularly ancient group (Cracraft 1981). Recent studies suggest that Cracidae is probably sister to a clade that includes Numididae, Odontophoridae, and Phasianidae (Dimcheff et al. 2002, Dyke et al. 2003, Hackett et al. 2008, Kimball & Braun 2008, Kimball et al. 2011, Wang et al. 2013). Within Cracidae, the position of Oreophasinae is not well resolved, but it may be sister to the clade made up of Cracinae plus Ortalisinae (Pereira & Baker 2004, Kimball et al. 2011), and Penelopinae appears to be sister to the remaining three (Pereira & Baker 2004).
Conservation Status
Least Concern |
45.6%
|
---|---|
Near Threatened |
10.5%
|
Vulnerable |
15.8%
|
Endangered |
10.5%
|
Critically Endangered |
7%
|
Extinct in the Wild |
1.8%
|
Extinct |
0%
|
Not Evaluated |
0%
|
Data Deficient |
0%
|
Unknown |
8.8%
|
Data provided by IUCN (2023) Red List. More information