YELLOW-KNOBBED CURASSOW

CHARACTERISTICS: Bird of 85 to 93cm in total length. The males have a blackish bill, with a well-developed yellow protuberance upon it; they also have yellow beards, one on either side of the lower jaw, close to the base of the bill. They have a medium-sized crest, made up of curly feathers. The general colour of the plumage is black or black with a few green flecks. The stomach and extreme tip of the tail are white. The legs are olive or grey-black, with slightly bluish hues. The females do not have the yellow protuberances on the face. The chest and front part of the stomach are dark, with very visible white marks. The posterior part of the stomach and the tip of the tail are white.
DIET: They feed on fruit, seeds, grass and occasionally on insects.
REPRODUCTION: They are monogamous. They build their nests in depressions in the ground which they then cover with reeds, twigs and feathers or at some three to six metres height in a tree, making a mattress of leaves and twigs with a depression in the middle. In it they deposit 2 to 5 eggs.
CURIOSITIES: They are threatened principally by the destruction of their habitat and also by excessive and indiscriminate hunting.