Crax rubra
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The great curassow (Crax rubra) is a large, pheasant-like bird from the Neotropical rainforests, its range extending from eastern Mexico, through Central America to western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. Male birds are black with curly crests and yellow beaks; females come in three colour morphs, barred, rufous and black. These birds form small groups, foraging mainly on the ground for fruits and arthropods, and the occasional small vertebrate, but they roost and nest in trees. This species is monogamous, the male usually building the rather small nest of leaves in which two eggs are laid. This species is threatened by loss of habitat and hunting, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as "vulnerable".
The great curassow is the most northerly Crax species. It is part of a clade that inhabited the north of South America since about 9 mya (Tortonian, Late Miocene). As the Colombian Andes were uplifted around 6 mya, this species' ancestors were cut off from the population to their southeast. The latter would in time evolve into the blue-billed curassow. The ancestral great curassows then spread along the Pacific side... Wikipedia →
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Great Curassow sighting in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on a given day, based on 51 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 200th most-seen of the 288 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Great Curassow in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in July to May, the lowest months. That is one of Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve's wettest months, with about 230 mm of rain against 30 mm in March.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Great Curassow sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
21st of 28
Of the 28 parks where we can rate Great Curassow sightings, Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve ranks 21st at under 5%. The best odds are in Santa Rosa National Park (Costa Rica, about 50%), Arenal Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 50%) and Corcovado National Park (Costa Rica, about 40%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Great Curassow is recorded against all the birds logged in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (51 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
