The yellow-knobbed curassow is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.
Region
Northern South America
Typical Environment
Occurs mainly in the Llanos region of Colombia and Venezuela, favoring gallery forests and riverine woodlands within a savanna-forest mosaic. It uses semi-deciduous and seasonally flooded forests, often near watercourses. The species forages extensively on the ground but roosts and nests in trees. It tolerates lightly modified habitats such as forest edges and cattle ranches with retained riparian belts.
Altitude Range
0–600 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
The male’s bright yellow knob and swollen cere at the base of the bill are most pronounced during the breeding season. Yellow-knobbed curassows are key seed dispersers for many forest plants, swallowing fruits whole and depositing seeds far from the parent tree. They are heavily affected by hunting and habitat loss but can persist in well-managed ranchlands with gallery forest strips.
Temperament
shy and wary
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats, reluctant flier
Social Behavior
Usually found in pairs or small family groups, especially at forest edges. Largely monogamous; nests are platform-like structures placed in trees. Clutch size is small, typically 1–2 eggs, and both parents may attend the young.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Males deliver deep, resonant booming notes, especially at dawn, that carry through forest corridors. They also emit low grunts and soft whistles during contact or alarm.
Plumage
Predominantly glossy black with a curled crest; males show white undertail coverts and tail tip, females often with fine barring and paler underparts. Plumage appears sleek with a slightly shaggy, forward-curled crest.
Diet
Primarily frugivorous, taking a wide variety of fallen and low-hanging fruits and seeds. Supplements diet with tender shoots, buds, and occasional invertebrates such as insects. Acts as a major seed disperser, passing intact seeds after gut transit. Will opportunistically glean from shrubs and the ground.
Preferred Environment
Forages along forest floors, riverbanks, and edges of gallery forests within the savanna matrix. Frequently visits fruiting trees and clearings near water and may use secondary growth and plantations with remnant trees.
