The crestless curassow (''Mitu tomentosum'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas,

guan Guan may refer to: * Guan (surname), several similar Chinese surnames ** Guān, Chinese surname * Guan (state), ancient Chinese city-state * Guan (bird), any of a number of bird species of the family Cracidae, of South and Central America * Guan ( ...

s, and

curassow Curassows are one of the three major groups of cracid birds. They comprise the largest-bodied species of the cracid family. Three of the four genera are restricted to tropical South America; a single species of ''Crax'' ranges north to Mexico. ...

s. It is found in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 August 2021. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved August 24, 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

The crestless curassow was originally described in genus ''Crax'' but genetic data confirm that ''Mitu'' is a valid genus.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 August 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved August 24, 2021 The crestless curassow is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

Description

The crestless curassow is long. Males weigh and females . It is mostly black with a dark blue to purplish gloss. Its belly and the tip of its tail are rich chestnut. Unlike most other curassows, it has no crest and no swelling on its red bill.del Hoyo, J. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Crestless Curassow (''Mitu tomentosum''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.crecur2.01 retrieved October 1, 2021

Distribution and habitat

The crestless curassow is found in eastern Colombia, southern Venezuela, northwestern Brazil, and southwestern Guyana. It mostly inhabits rainforest along rivers, though it is also found in gallery forest in the ''

llanos The Llanos (Spanish ''Los Llanos'', "The Plains"; ) is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical grasslands, sav ...

'' of Colombia and Venezuela. It tends to favor areas with thick undergrowth. It is a bird of lowlands; in Colombia it occurs up to and in Venezuela up to .

Behavior

Feeding

The crestless curassow usually forages singly or in pairs but also very rarely in groups of up to 10. It mostly feeds on the ground. Its diet has not been studied but is reported to be almost entirely fallen fruits.

Breeding

The crestless curassow's breeding season appears to coincide with the rainy season. It places its nest low in trees and lays two eggs.

Vocalization

The crestless curassow's song is "a low humming or booming 'uuut ... uu-UU-uu-uhoot'", performed year round but more frequently in the breeding season. Its alarm call is a "series of sharp, reedy whistles, 'queet'".

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

originally assessed the crestless curassow as being of Least Concern but in 2012 reclassified it as Near Threatened. Its population is not known but is projected to decrease due to habitat fragmentation and hunting.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1264409 crestless curassow crestless curassow Birds of the Amazon Basin Birds of the Colombian Amazon Birds of the Venezuelan Amazon Birds of the Guianas crestless curassow Taxonomy articles created by Polbot