Curassow, Blue-billed
Scientific Name: Crax alberti
Status: Critically Endangered
Habitat: Grasslands, marshes and meadows near lakes and streams in South America
Diet: This omnivorous bird eats fruits, shoots, small invertebrates, and possibly carrion.
Height: 2–3 feet
Weight: 7–8 pounds
The blue-billed curassow belongs to the order of birds known as galliformes—it is a tropical South American cousin of turkeys.
Only inhabiting a very small region of northern Colombia, the blue-billed curassow numbers are quickly diminishing due to the use of farming pesticides and destruction of native rainforest. A recent survey in 2009 predicted that the true population of this species lies between 250 and 999 individuals, making it one of the rarest birds in the world.
