Curassow

Curassow, any bird of the arboreal gallinaceous genus Crax, from the forests of the Neotropical region. There are eight species, rather smaller than turkeys, with black or sombre plumage, curly crest, and a fleshy knob on the bill. There are fourteen tail-feathers, spread out and inclined. The Hocco (C. alector) is the Royal Pheasant of the Mexicans. These birds usually go in couples or small companies, and feed on worms, seeds, and fruit. They are unsuspicious and easily tamed, "but the natives have found the turkey more profitable, or discovered that the Hocco does not multiply easily in confinement." The rare Mountain Curassow (Oreophasis derbianus), from Guatemala, belongs to the same family.