11th of July 2014 – Species Spotlight Bare Faced Curassow

This week we focus on the
 
Bare Faced Curassow
Crax fasciolata

Bare Faced Curassow are found throughout much of the Eastern Amazon rainforest where they are relatively common.  They feed on the ground but are equally happy perched up on branches.
They are a large bird, with males weighing up to 2.8 kilo.  Sexes can be told apart as males have a yellow bill and are mainly black, the females have a black bill are are covered with black and white bars.
They feed mainly of vegetation, with flowers, fruit and seeds all take.  They forage on the ground and will scrape through leaf litter using their claws to find what they feed on.
Courtship involves a series of deep booming calls from the male.  This is further enhanced with the flapping of his wings to show the contrast between his white belly and black wings.  Food may also be offered to the female to entice her.
A platform of twigs and leaves serves as a nest.  This is usually hidden amongst cover and can be up to 5 metres off the ground. 2 eggs are laid and incubated by the female only for roughly a month.  Both parents present food to the chicks for the initial first few days but can feed themselves pretty quickly
 
We currently have a pair of Bare Faced, housed with a Western Grey Plantain Eater in an aviary next to the trout pond.  The pair have recently been getting aggressive and a hint of a nest is currently being built.
 
In other news
The Kookaburra eggs have disappeared, presumably destroyed by mum
The King Penguins continue to pair and display, with Spike pretending to have an egg (he doesn’t)
The Greater Flamingos have been provided with a load of soil in the hope of encouraging some late breeding
No sign of Rhea chicks as yet
 
Wildlife wise we have a nest of swallows in the Emu shed

Butterflies are becoming more frequent, with Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral seen this week.
A potential False Widow Spider was seen in the Corn Snake tank in the Discovery Zone!
 
Thanks for reading