Red-beaked Hokko

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Red-beaked Hokko
Red-billed Hokko, male

Red-billed Hokko, male

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Chicken birds (Galliformes)
Family : Hokkohens (Cracidae)
Genre : Crax
Type : Red-beaked Hokko
Scientific name
Crax Blumenbachii
Spix , 1825

The red-billed hokko ( Crax blumenbachii ), known as Mutum-do-sudeste in Brazil, is a very rare bird in the Hokkohühner family .

discovery

The red-beaked horn was first described by Johann Baptist von Spix in 1825 and for a long time was only known through anecdotes from naturalists such as Prince Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied , who discovered it in 1816. It was named after Johann Friedrich Blumenbach , a well-known German anthropologist and teacher of Prince zu Wied-Neuwied. In August 1939, the German ornithologist Helmut Sick undertook an expedition to the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo and sighted the first specimens of the red-billed hokko in the wild on the Rio Cupido and the Rio Doce near Linhares. Before this discovery, two specimens ended up in the New York Zoo and three museum specimens in Europe.

features

These birds can reach a length of 84 cm. The plumage of the males is glossy black with a slight greenish-blue tinge. The tail is black. The rump and the under tail-coverts are white. There is a black comb made of wavy feathers on the head. The dark brown beak with black tip is decorated with a red-orange curve with caruncles . The dark brown, almost black eyes are surrounded by purple-brown facial skin, otherwise the face is feathered black. The long legs are colored black. The female has cinnamon-reddish brown under tail-coverts and rump. The top and tail are black like the males, but they have a larger number of fairly inconspicuous reddish-brown to chestnut-colored wavy bands on the wings, as well as on the tail and lower abdomen. The shorter crest is black and usually has three closely spaced white feathers. The beak and the wax skin over it are matt black. They have no caruncle and no bulge on their beak, but a small swelling. The eyes are light brown and much paler than the males. The color of the legs varies from matt flesh red to matt pink.

Way of life

As with all Crax, two eggs are always laid 48 hours apart. The young hatch after an incubation period of 28-30 days. Its diet consists of fruits, seeds and insects that it picks up from the ground. The maximum age can be up to 20 years (in captivity).

Hazard and protection

Less than 250 specimens still exist in the wild, spread over four or five reserves. The largest populations are in the Sooretama Reserve with 60 specimens and in the Linhares Forest Reserve in Espirito Santo with 100 specimens.

Currently, 13 zoos (including Chester Zoo , Vogelpark Walsrode , Cracid Breeding Center, Zutendaal , Belgium, Diergaarde Blijdorp , Rotterdam ) are trying to build a human-cared population within the framework of the EEP . Fortunately, they breed in captivity, so the population in the wild can be replenished through reintroduction.

Web links

Commons : Rotschnabelhokko  - Collection of images, videos and audio files