Black Curassow / Zwarte hokko, Powisi

Black Curassow (Crax alector)

Pictures (click on them to enlarge)
with young, wild bird at Kabalebo © Armida Madngisa nature guide	Kabalebo, Late Nov 22 © Armida Madngisa nature guide	© K.D. Dijkstra
© IPG rangers Sipaliwini ACT	© Jan Hein Ribot	© Gert Jonkers
© Candy McManiman	© Candy McManiman	© Armida Madngisa nature guide

Black Curassow: The first two photos were made by Candy McManiman on the Brownsberg in Suriname in 2005. After a long period without hunting the birds are less wary there and are often seen early in the morning walking on the forest floor. The curled feathers on their head are sometimes used for personal ornaments in Suriname. The other photos were made by KD Dijkstra, IPG Rangers near Kwamalasamutu in juni 2015 with a camera trap and by J.H. Ribot (tame birds in a garden), all in Suriname.
There is a small video of two Black Curassows early morning on a road on the Brownsberg by Raoul Ribot. And a better one made by Armida Madgnisa at the nature resort of Kabalebo. She also made the third video of Black Curassows thet try to intimidate a Black Vulture. Does the vulture resemble them too much?

Video (click the link or the 'play'-button to see)
Video recording of a Black Curassow © ;	Video recording of a Black Curassow © ;	Video recording of a Black Curassow © ;

Distribution

Each small square indicates the observation of at least one (group) of these birds, the medium ones at least four observations on different days and the largest ones ten or more. The color of each square indicates: blue for coastal area, yellow for savanna and red for rainforest.
Not all places in Suriname have been equally often visited by birders, so the distribution of the squares gives an indication of the whereabouts of the birds, but also of the birders. Some places deep in the south have no reported bird observations, by experienced birders, within 60 kilometer.

Abundance in different areas
coastal zone (blue dots on the map) :
northern savannas (yellow dots (in the north)) :
rainforest under 400 m (red dots) :
rainforest above 400 m (red dots) :
Sipaliwini savanna (yellow dots (in the south)) :
A blank is shown if not convincingly reported in the zone. Data interpreted by Arie Spaans, Otte Ottema and Jan Hein Ribot.

Names
Scientific name:	Crax alector
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Cracidae, 5 in Suriname
Dutch:	Zwarte hokko, Powisi
English:	Black Curassow
Sranan ('Surinamese'):	Powisi
Guyana:	Powis
Papiamento:
Spanish (Venezuela):	Paujíl; culo blanco
Portugese (Brazil):	Mutumporanga
Arowak:	Hietjie
Carib:	Woko
French:	Grand hocco

Observations through the year	Observations of breeding through the year

The 231 reported observations of this bird in Suriname, mainly for the last 50 years up to 2018, have been grouped by month. More birds on one day are counted as one observation. Of course, if the graph should depict the total number of birds seen, the differences between the months could be much more pronounced.	The 4 reported breeding observations of this bird in Suriname. Most observations are about nest with eggs, some about fledglings, or feeding at a nest or the building of a nest. Of the about 5000 nests and eggs found for all species together, about 1/3 comes from the egg collection of Penard between 1896 and 1905. For some reason most collecting then was done in the first half of each year, so the shown distribution does not necessarily reflect the actual breeding preferences. The main dry season in Suriname is reckoned to be from half August to the end of November, the main wet season from half April to half August, but the the timing of begin and end does vary from year to year. Around March a second dry season often occurs.

Observations through the year

Observations of breeding through the year

The 231 reported observations of this bird in Suriname, mainly for the last 50 years up to 2018, have been grouped by month. More birds on one day are counted as one observation. Of course, if the graph should depict the total number of birds seen, the differences between the months could be much more pronounced.

The 4 reported breeding observations of this bird in Suriname. Most observations are about nest with eggs, some about fledglings, or feeding at a nest or the building of a nest.

Of the about 5000 nests and eggs found for all species together, about 1/3 comes from the egg collection of Penard between 1896 and 1905. For some reason most collecting then was done in the first half of each year, so the shown distribution does not necessarily reflect the actual breeding preferences.
The main dry season in Suriname is reckoned to be from half August to the end of November, the main wet season from half April to half August, but the the timing of begin and end does vary from year to year. Around March a second dry season often occurs.

Last update: September 2024 by Jan Hein Ribot. Please mail your comments, photos to: jhribot ( residing at ) gmail (point!) com.
observations can be uploaded to suriname.observation.org or ebird.org ).