Blue-billed Curassow
Crax alberti
A critically endangered black forest bird from Colombia with a curly crest and a bright blue knob on its bill.
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About the Blue-billed Curassow
Blue-billed curassows stand 32 to 36 inches tall. They are black with white under the tail and a curly black crest, and they have blue fleshy skin at the base of the bill. They once lived across northern Colombia, but now survive only in a few small patches of lowland tropical forest. They walk on the forest floor eating fruit, worms, insects, snails and crayfish.[1]
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Crax alberti[1]
- Size
- 32 to 36 inches tall.[1]
- Diet
- Fruit, worms, insects, snails, crayfish and sometimes carrion.[1]
- Habitat
- Lowland tropical forest.[1]
- Where it lives
- A few small forest areas in northern Colombia.[1]
- Group life
- Feeds on the forest floor.[1]
- Babies
- 2 or 3 eggs, incubated for about 32 days.[1]
- Conservation status
- Critically Endangered (IUCN Red List, assessed 2025).[2]
Fun facts
Vocabulary
- cere
- A fleshy patch at the base of some birds' bills.
- crest
- A tuft of feathers on top of a bird's head.
- terrestrial
- Living mostly on the ground.
- carrion
- The meat of an animal that is already dead.
- critically endangered
- A conservation label meaning a species faces an extremely high risk of dying out in the wild.
See it in person
- Smithsonian's National ZooWashington, D.C. · Bird HouseSee this animal on the zoo's website ↗
These zoos had this animal when we gathered our information, but animals sometimes move. Check the zoo's website or contact the zoo before you visit.
Sources
- [1] Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. “Blue-billed curassow.” https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/blue-billed-curassow (accessed 2026-10-08)
- [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Crax alberti (Blue-billed Curassow).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22678525/265023587 (accessed 2026-10-08)
Facts last checked 2026-10-08.
