• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	A2cd+3cd+4cd; C2a(i)

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2023	Vulnerable	A2cd+3cd+4cd
2016	Endangered	C2a(i)
2013	Endangered	C2a(i)
2012	Endangered	C2a(i)
2008	Endangered	C2a(i)
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Endangered
1994	Endangered
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	high
Land-mass type	continent	Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	143,000 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	14,000 km2
Number of locations	11-100	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	3500-12500 mature individuals	poor	inferred	2015
Population trend	decreasing	poor	inferred	2010-2037
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Generation length	9 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	5-100	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: Formerly common, this species is now generally rare and occurs at low densities (Wege and Long 1995, Silva 1999). Based on observed densities of 4.8 individuals/km² in Tamá National Natural Park, the population in Colombia is estimated at c.10,900 individuals, though this may be an overestimate; the population is therefore placed in the band 2,500-9,999 mature individuals (Renjfo et al. 2014). The population in Venezuela is suspected to number 1,000-2,499 mature individuals (Rojas-Suárez et al. 2015). The global population may therefore number roughly 3,500-12,500 mature individuals.

Trend justification: Once common across its range, the population has declined considerably; it is reportedly observed less frequently in recent years and has even suffered local extinctions (Renjifo et al. 2014, Rojas-Suárez et al. 2015, del Hoyo and Kirwan 2020, T. Donegan in litt. 2023). The principal drivers of the decline are thought to be intense hunting pressure and habitat loss (del Hoyo and Kirwan 2020).
The rate of decline has not been quantified across the range. Within its altitudinal range, about 6% of tree cover has been lost since 2000 (Global Forest Watch 2022, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein), which roughly equates to a decline of 8% over the past three generations (27 years). Given the species' strict dependence on interior forest and sensitivity to fragmented and edge habitat, habitat loss may have caused population declines at a higher rate than tree cover loss alone suggests. By now, the species is largely restricted to protected areas (Rojas-Suárez et al. 2015). The impact of hunting has not been quantified; hunting pressure is however described as intense and ongoing even within protected areas (Renjifo et al. 2014,  Rojas-Suárez et al. 2015). In Colombia, it is suspected that the population has declined by >50% over 40 years (Renjifo et al. 2014), which is equivalent to a decline of 37% over three generations. Assuming that this rate is representative for the entire range, it is suspected that the combined impacts of hunting and habitat loss are causing overall population declines at a rate of 30-49% over three generations, though an accurate quantification of the population trend is urgently required.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Colombia	extant	native	yes
Venezuela	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Colombia	Parque Nacional Natural El Cocuy
Colombia	Parque Nacional Natural Tamá
Colombia	Serranía de los Yariguíes
Venezuela	Dinira National Park and surrounding areas (Refugio de Fauna Silvestre y Reserva de Pesca Parque Nacional Dinira IBA)
Venezuela	Henri Pittier National Park (Parque Nacional Henri Pittier IBA)
Venezuela	Parque Nacional El Ávila and surrounding areas
Venezuela	Parque Nacional El Tamá
Venezuela	Parque Nacional Guaramacal
Venezuela	Parque Nacional Guatopo
Venezuela	Parque Nacional Macarao
Venezuela	Parque Nacional Páramos Batallón y La Negra and surrounding areas
Venezuela	Parque Nacional Perijá
Venezuela	Parque Nacional San Esteban
Venezuela	Parque Nacional Sierra La Culata
Venezuela	Parque Nacional Sierra Nevada
Venezuela	Parque Nacional Tapo-Caparo
Venezuela	Parque Nacional Terepaima
Venezuela	Parque Nacional Yacambú
Venezuela	Zona Protectora San Rafael de Guasare

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	major	resident
Altitude	500 - 2260 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national
Handicrafts, jewellery, etc.	subsistence, national

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Helmeted Curassow Pauxi pauxi. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/helmeted-curassow-pauxi-pauxi on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.