Current view: Data table and detailed info
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.
IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Red List history
Migratory status |
not a migrant |
Forest dependency |
high |
Land-mass type |
|
Average mass |
- |
Population justification: This species is described as 'uncommon' (Stotz et al. 1996). Surveys have recorded the following population densities: 1.65 individuals /km2 in an unhunted area and 0.02 individuals /km2 in a hunted site in northeastern Peru (Begazo and Bodmer 1998), 1.8 individuals per km2 in unhunted forest in Brazil (Peres et al. 2003), 0.02-1.77 individuals /km2 in Bolivia (Martínez and Ayala 2013), 1.63 individuals /km2 in terra firme, 3.45 individuals /km2 in varzea and 1.11 individuals /km2 in igapo forests in Brazil (Haugaasen and Peres 2008), 0.62 and 2.12 individuals /km2 in hunted terra firme forest, 5.9, 8.9 and 7.89 individuals /km2 in unhunted terra firme forest and 12.18 and 2.73 individuals /km2 in seasonally flooded forest in Peru (Endo et al. 2010), and 11.3 (7.4–17.3) individuals /km2 in unhunted forest in northern Peru (Barrio 2011).
Based on the first quartile and median of the above population densities, an estimated area of habitat in 2000 of 3,670,000 km2 (Global Forest Watch 2021) and assuming between 10 and 40% of habitat is occupied, the population size is tentatively suspected to fall within the range 500,000 - 3,000,000 individuals. This may roughly equate to 300,000 - 2,000,000 mature individuals.
Trend justification: Over 20 years from 2000-2020, approximately 11% of tree cover with at least 50% canopy cover was lost from within the species's range (Global Forest Watch 2021). Extrapolating this rate over three generations (25 years) to 2020, it is estimated that approximately 13% of tree cover was lost from the species's range. Based on the rate of tree cover loss that occurred over 2016-2020 (Global Forest Watch 2021), it is projected that up to 19% of tree cover may be lost from the species's range over the next 25 years.
Although the species is dependent on forest habitat, the link between habitat loss and its population size is poorly known. The species's abundance is also impacted by hunting in parts of the range (Begazo and Bodmer 1998, Peres et al. 2003, Peres and Palacios 2007, Barrio 2011), which may be contributing to declines.
Overall, the species's population size is suspected to have undergone a reduction of 8-18% over the past three generations, and it is suspected to undergo a reduction of 10-25% over three generations into the future.
Country/territory distribution
Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Razor-billed Curassow Mitu tuberosum. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/razor-billed-curassow-mitu-tuberosum 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.