Alagoas Curassow

The Alagoas curassow (''Mitu mitu'') is a glossy-black, pheasant-like bird. It was formerly found in forests in Northeastern Brazil in what is now the states of Pernambuco and Alagoas, which is the origin of its common name. It is now extinct in the wild; there are about 130 individuals in captivity.

German naturalist Georg Marcgrave first identified the Alagoas curassow in 1648 in its native range. Subsequently, the origin and legitimacy of the bird began to be questioned due to the lack of specimens. An adult female curassow was rediscovered in 1951, in the coastal forests of Alagoas. The ''Mitu mitu'' was then accepted as a separate species. At that time fewer than 60 birds were left in the wild, in the forests around São Miguel dos Campos. Several authors in the 1970s brought to light the growing destruction of its habitat and the rarity of the species. Even with these concerns, the last large forest remnants which contained native ''Mitu mitu'' were demolished for sugarcane agriculture.

Description

The Alagoas curassow measures approximately in length. Feathers covering its body are black and glossy, with a blue-purple hue. Specimens of ''Mitu mitu'' also has a large, bright red beak, flattened at its sides, with a white tip. The same red coloration found on its legs and feet. The tips of its tail feathers are light brown in color, with chestnut colored feathers under the tail. It has a unique grey colored, crescent-shaped patch of bare skin covering its ears, a character not found in other curassows. The distinct coloration separates ''M.mitu'' as its own species distinct from other curassow species. Sexual dimorphism is not pronounced: females tend to be lighter in color and slightly smaller in size. The birds can live to more than twenty four years in captivity. Video recording in captivity show that this cracid sporadically makes a high-pitched chirping sound.

Population

Since 1977, the entire ''Mitu mitu'' population has been in captivity. The population numbered 44 in 2000, and by 2008, there were 130 birds in two aviaries. About 35% of the birds were hybrids with '' M. tuberosum''.

Habitat and ecology

''Mitu mitu'' native habitat is subtropical/tropical moist lowland primary forest, where it was known to consume fruit of ''Phyllanthus, Eugenia'' and "mangabeira." It is extinct and extirpated in its native range in Alagoas and Pernambuco states, Northeastern Brazil.

Breeding habits

Due to their absence in the wild and lack of study previously conducted on these cracids before their extinction in the wild, not much is known about their breeding habits outside of captivity. Alagoas curassow females begin reproducing at about 2 years old. In captivity, they produce about 2–3 eggs each year. There has been a greater genetic variability amongst the Alagoas curassow after 1990, when hybrid breeding programs were introduced; Alagoas curassows were bred with closely related razor-billed curassows.

Taxonomy

The Alagoas curassow was first mentioned by German naturalist Georg Marcgrave in his work ''Historia Naturalis Brasiliae'' which was published in 1648. Because of the lack of information and specimens, it was considered conspecific with the common razor-billed curassow, until its rediscovery in 1951 in the Alagoas lowland forests, Brazil. Following the review of Pereira & Baker (2004), they are today believed to be a fairly basal lineage of its genus, related to the crestless curassow, the other '' Mitu'' species with brown eumelanin in the tail tip. Its lineage has been distinct since the Miocene-Pliocene

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