Razor-billed Curassow
Encyclopedia
The Razor-billed Curassow (Mitu tuberosum) is a species of bird
in the Cracidae
family. It is found throughout a large part of the Amazon Rainforest
, though largely restricted to regions south of the Amazon River
. Unlike other members of the genus Mitu
, its crissum is deep chestnut
and the tail-tip is white. The Razor-billed Curassow was formerly treated as a subspecies
of Mitu mitu, but today this scientific name is restricted to the extremely rare Alagoas Curassow
.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the Cracidae
Cracidae
The chachalacas, guans and curassows are birds in the family Cracidae.These are species of tropical and subtropical Central and South America. One species, the Plain Chachalaca, just reaches southernmost Texas in the USA...
family. It is found throughout a large part of the Amazon Rainforest
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
, though largely restricted to regions south of the Amazon River
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
. Unlike other members of the genus Mitu
Mitu (bird)
Mitu is a genus of curassows, large birds in the family Cracidae. They are found in humid tropical forests in South America. Their plumage is iridescent black with a white or rufous crissum and tail-tip, and their legs and bills are red...
, its crissum is deep chestnut
Chestnut (color)
Chestnut, also known as Indian red, is a color, a medium brownish shade of red, and is named after the nut of the chestnut tree.As Indian red, it is named after the red laterite soil found in India. It is thus an earth tone as well as a red. It is composed of naturally occurring iron oxides. Other...
and the tail-tip is white. The Razor-billed Curassow was formerly treated as a subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of Mitu mitu, but today this scientific name is restricted to the extremely rare Alagoas Curassow
Alagoas Curassow
The Alagoas Curassow, Mitu mitu, is a large, mainly glossy black pheasant-like bird. It was formerly found in forests in north-eastern Brazil, but it is now extinct in the wild. A captive population exists...
.