An interesting race of birds, known as the Curassows, has its range
throughout that part of South America, east of the Andes Mountain range
and north of Paraguay. All the species are confined to this region
except one, which is found in Central America and Mexico. This is the
bird of our illustration (Crax globicera).
The Curassows belong to the order of Gallinaceous birds and bear the
same relation to South America that the pheasants and grouse bear to the
Old World. They are in every respect the most important and the most
perfect game birds of the district which they inhabit. In all there are
twelve species placed under four genera. As the hind toes of the feet
are placed on a level with the others they resemble the pigeon and are
unlike many of the other gallinaceous birds.
The Curassows are very large and rather heavy birds and some of them are
larger than our turkey. They have short wings and a strong bill. At the
base of the upper mandible and on the upper side there is a large
tubercle-like excrescence which is of a yellow color and quite hard.
Upon the head there is a gracefully arched crest of feathers which is
made of curled feathers, the tips of which are white in some of the
species. This crest can be lowered or raised at the will of the bird.
The plumage of the species illustrated is a beautiful and velvety black,
except the white on the lower portion of the body. It is said that their
motions are much more graceful than are those of our common domestic
turkey. “They live in small flocks, and are arboreal in their habits,
only occasionally descending to the ground, while roosting and building
their nests on the branches of trees.” The nests are large and made of
twigs and willowy branches held in place by the stems of grasses, which
are neatly interwoven between them. The nest is lined with down,
feathers and leaves.
It is said that they are easily domesticated and that in some parts of
South America they may be found in tame flocks around the homes of the
planters. One authority states that at about the beginning of the
present century a large number of Curassows were taken from Dutch Guiana
to Holland, where they became thoroughly domesticated, breeding as
readily as any other kind of domestic poultry. Though a tropical bird,
it would seem that they might be acclimatized. They would certainly form
a valuable addition to the list of our farm fowls, for their flesh is
said to be “exceedingly white and delicate.”
The female is not as large as the male and is usually reddish in color.
Their food consists almost entirely of fruit and insects.
About the middle of the eighteenth century Eleazar Albin wrote “A
Natural History of Birds,” in which he gives a very interesting account
of the Curassow and an excellent illustration of the bird. He says: “I
took a pourtray of this bird at Chelmsford in Essex; it was very tame
and sociable, eating and drinking with any company. The Cock I had of a
man from the West Indies. They are generally brought from Carasow, from
whence they take their Name. They are called by the Indians Tecuecholi,
Mountain-Bird or American Pheasant.”
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