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1. What is a Cracid? - 2. Why are they important? - 3. Cracidologists
Cracids
are a family of gamebirds (Cracidae), found predominantly throughout
the Latin American tropics. Cracids live in a variety of tropical and subtropical habitats, The northern most species gets into the
extreme southern portion of Texas, and the southern most species ranges
as far south as the Plate River Basin in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina!
Sizes range from small pheasant to a large turkey. Their larger size
compared to most species of birds makes them an ideal protein source
for people living in the same region. However; unfortunately, they are
not always harvested sustainably (i.e., Severely
overhunted in many regions), and consequently their populations
are plummeting rapidly throughout their range. The other factor that
threatens Cracids is depletion of their natural forest habitat. Although
some species can tolerate moderate forest alteration, most species disappear
when their natural habitat is destroyed.
Chachalacas
The smallest members of the Family Cracidae. There
are a dozen species, all in the genus Ortalis. In contrast to
Guans and Curassows, Chachalacas can withstand habitat modification
to some extent, as long as some forest and trees are still remaining.
Guans
The medium-sized members of the Family Cracidae.
The most diverse of the Cracids, comprising 24 species: 15 True Guans (Penelope), 5 Piping Guan and Wattled Guans (Aburria),
2 Sickle-winged Guans (Chamaepetes), and 2 monotypic taxa: Horned
Guan (Oreophasis) and Highland Guan (Penelopina).
Curassows
The largest members of the Family Cracidae. There
are 14 species: 7 True Curassows (Crax), 4 Razor-billed Curassows (Mitu), 2 Helmeted Curassows (Pauxi) and the monotypic
Nocturnal Curassow (Nothocrax).
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