Guans, chachalacas and curassows | Cracidae

Hokko's | Crácidos

Curassows, guans and chachalacas form a family of gamebirds found almost exclusively in the tropics of Central and South America. Unlike most gamebirds they live largely in trees: they have a long tail, short, rounded wings and a long hind toe set at the same level as the front toes, which gives them a firm grip on branches. They eat fruit, leaves and buds and so disperse seeds. The nest is a small platform of twigs in a tree or shrub, with few eggs; the chicks can flutter after only a few days. Two species live in the region. The Rufous-vented Chachalaca (Ortalis ruficauda) is olive-brown with a grey head and rufous undertail coverts and occurs on Tobago and a few islands of the Grenadines; groups call mainly in the morning in a loud, rhythmic chorus. The Trinidad Piping Guan or pawi (Pipile pipile), blackish with a white crest, a white wing patch and a blue throat wattle, is rare and confined to forest on Trinidad.