Animalia Life

Pauxi pauxi
SUBFAMILY
Cracinae
TAXONOMY
Crax pauxi Linnaeus, 1766, Mexico, error = Venezuela. Two subspecies.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Helmeted curassow; French: Hocco б pierre; German: Helmhokko; Spanish: Paujн de Piedras, Paujн de Yelmo.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Helmeted curassows are characterized by a bony outgrowth on the forehead. This species has a unique ornamentation, a large globose bluish grey knob above the bill. Length is 33.5–36 in (85–92 cm). Males weigh 7.7–8.3 lb (3.5–3.75 kg); females weigh 5.8 lb (2.65 kg).
DISTRIBUTION
This species is found in northern Venezuela and northeastern Colombia.
HABITAT
Found in dense, cool montane cloud forest above 1,650 ft (500 m).
BEHAVIOR
The call of the helmeted curassow is a prolonged, low-pitched grunting or groaning which sounds like “mm-mm-mm-mm.” The cock produces it by breathing out with a closed beak.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Generally fallen fruits and seeds; also leaves, grasses, and buds. Forages on the ground singly, in pairs, or in family groups.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Nests are often built in trees 13–20 ft (4–6 m) off the ground. The nest itself is typically rudimentary, made of twigs and lined with leaves. The eggs are among the largest of any cracid, 3.3–3.7 in (8.5–9.5 cm) long and 2.4–2.5 in (6–6.5 cm) wide. The clutch size is typically two eggs with incubation lasting approximately 34 days. The hen leaves her eggs once a day, usually between eight and ten in the morning, and she stays off them from one to 2.5 hours. If it rains the whole day, she may omit this “outing.”
CONSERVATION STATUS
Vulnerable. The northern helmeted curassow is endemic to a small region of northern South America, and is threatened with
HABITAT
destruction and overhunting. The montane forest this species is restricted to is being converted into cattle grazing ranchland at higher altitudes, and narcotics plantations at lower altitudes. Its geographic range is estimated at 13,900 mi2 (36,000 km2). Its numbers are estimated at fewer than 10,000, with populations declining. It does however occur in a number of Venezuelan reserves, as well as the Cocuy National Park in Colombia.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
This species is often hunted for food, unsustainably in many situations.

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