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Great Curassow


Great Curassow
Photo Information
Copyright: Manyee Desandies (manyee) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3089 W: 230 N: 6774] (23770)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2010-01-02
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon Powershot SX110IS
Photo Version: Original Version
Travelogue: Guatemala & Belize
Theme(s): RARE or SIGNIFICANT contributions to TN 5 [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2010-01-13 18:32
Viewed: 6843
Points: 16
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Great Curassow (female)
Crax rubra

The Great Curassow (Crax rubra) is a large, black pheasant-like bird with a yellow knob on its bill, curly black feather crests, and white below. Together with a few other curassows, it is among the largest members of the family Cracidae, at 78–92 cm (30–34 in) and a weight of up to 4.8 kg (10.5 lbs). There are three morphs of female Great Curassows: Barred morph females with barred neck, mantle, wings and tail, rufous morph with an overall reddish brown plumage and a barred tail, and dark morph female with a blackish neck, mantle and tail (the tail often faintly vermiculated), and some barring to the wings. In most regions only one or two morphs occur, and females showing a level of intermediacy between these morphs are known (e.g. resembling rufous morph, but with black neck and faint vermiculations to wings).
A monogamous species, the Great Curassow is distributed in rainforest from eastern Mexico throughout Central America, to western Colombia and northwest Ecuador. Its diet consists mainly of fruits, figs and arthropods.

Paleontology of the Great Curassow
The Great Curassow is the most northernly Crax species. It is part of a clade that inhabited the north of South America since about 9 mya (Tortonian, Late Miocene). As the Colombian Andes were uplifted around 6 mya, this species' ancestors were cut off from the population to their southeast. The latter would in time evolve into the Blue-billed Curassow. The ancestral Great Curassows then spread along the Pacific side of the Andes, and into Central America during the Pliocene and Pleistocene as part of the Great American Interchange.

This photo was shot at the Belize Zoo.

Source
Luis52, horias, loot has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • Luis52 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1175 W: 8 N: 4240] (15809)
  • [2010-01-13 18:56]

Hola Manyee.
Great photo. very nice lookin bird. You did a great job here. Your note is also very interesting.
Saludos
Luis52.

Hi.
A very nice bird with interesting form and colors.
Nice picture.
Best regards.Alin.

  • Great 
  • horias Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 837 W: 58 N: 2084] (11033)
  • [2010-01-14 6:46]

Manyee
Wonderful bird this lovely Great Curassow !
Wonderful colors and great details.
Congratulation!
Horia

  • Great 
  • PeterZ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5137 W: 166 N: 13121] (49139)
  • [2010-01-14 6:58]

Hello Manyee,
Yes, here she is. Beautiful photo in excellent sharpness and great colours. Good POV and eye contact.
Kind regards,
Peter

  • Great 
  • cako Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 485 W: 0 N: 772] (3395)
  • [2010-01-15 6:39]

Hi Manyee
very nice colors and sharp.
Have a nice day

  • Great 
  • loot Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5524 W: 722 N: 4163] (11276)
  • [2010-01-20 17:54]
  • [2]

Hi ManYee

Ok, I told you not too long ago that it seems like you're on a mission to see who can
post the most TrekNature 1st's in near succession. I think you have proved to be the
most "Intrepid Explorer" on the site, at this very moment in time, especially capturing
this (perilous) specimen (chuckle). Since mid November 2009, this is the 10th posting
from you that has found its way to my theme for "RARE or SIGNIFICANT contributions
to TN" and I know the final counting is not yet done as there are still another number of
shots, waiting in the pipeline, to be copied to the theme. All I can say is; EXCELLENT.

Actually one would think that the Curassow family would be much better represented
on the site than what one really find it to be when one starts investigating. This is only
the 4th species of Curassows on the site so there are still quite a number of Curassows
not yet present on the site. Previous postings includes: the Yellow-knobbed Curassow,
the Bare-faced Curassow, and the Helmeted Curassow.

Well done MF and TFS.
Regards
Loot

PS. Keep 'em coming...

amazing bird, TFS Ori

Hi Manyee,
very nice colors and sharpness of this beautuful bird!!! Well done.
Greetings.

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