Horned curassow

The horned curassow or southern helmeted curassow (Pauxi unicornis) is a species of bird in the Cracidae family found in humid tropical and subtropical forests. It was first described by Bond & Meyer de Schauensee from Bolivia in 1939, and further birds that were described by Weske & Terborgh from Peru in 1971 were thought to be a subspecies. However, the taxonomical position of this species is unclear and further research is needed to clarify the position. It is a large, predominantly black bird with a distinctive casque on its forehead. It is an uncommon bird with a limited range and is suffering from habitat loss, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being "critically endangered".

Taxonomy and systematics

In 1937 while in Bolivia Mr M. A. Carriker found two birds, a male and female, which were in the cracid family. The specimens were subsequently described as a new species by James Bond and Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee in 1939 and given the scientific name Pauxi unicornis placing it in a genus Pauxi alongside the species P. pauxi. In 1969 another two birds, again a male and female were discovered which resembled those found by Mr. Carriker in 1937. However this time they were found in Peru a long way from the previous P. unicornis discoveries in Bolivia. These Peruvian specimens were described by John Weske and John Terborgh in 1971 as a new subspecies of P. unicornis which they named in honour of Maria Koepcke.