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

Justification of Red List category
This species is suspected to decline at a moderately rapid rate as a consequence of habitat loss and high hunting pressure. It is therefore assessed as Near Threatened.

Population justification
Density descriptions vary greatly, ranging from 0.78-3.1 individuals/km² in Colombia (Renjifo et al. 2016) to 80-160 individuals/km² in riparian forest and 2.7-43.7 individuals/km² in dry forest in Venezuela (Brooks 2006). The population in Colombia is estimated at roughly 2,200 individuals, equivalent to 1,500 mature individuals (Renjifo et al. 2016). Given that Colombia only covers a very small part of the range, the total population is likely substantially larger, exceeding 10,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification
This species has already lost vast areas of suitable habitat. In Venezuela, it currently occupies less than 50% of its historical distribution, and as little as 30% and 40% in the Cordillera de la Costa and Llanos respectively (Buchholz and Bertsch 2006). In Colombia, about 70% of its original habitat has disappeared (Renjifo et al. 2016), and the species is described as becoming less common in large parts of the range (del Hoyo and Kirwan 2020). In line with the drastic loss of occupied areas a continuing decline in population size is inferred.
Quantifying a rate of decline is difficult due to a lack of exact data on the impacts of hunting and habitat loss on the population size. Tree cover within the range has been lost at a rate of 13% (for >30% canopy cover) to 18% (for >75% canopy cover) over the past three generations (25.4 years; Global Forest Watch 2023, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein). Forest loss appears to be accelerating; based on annual losses for 2017-2022 tree cover loss could increase to a rate equivalent to 17-26% over the next years (Global Forest Watch 2023, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein). Apart from forests the species is also found in woodland and tall shrub, therefore tree cover loss alone may not drive equivalent population declines. Nevertheless, even though the extent of hunting remains unquantified, hunting pressure is generally described as high in this species, having already led to local extinctions in Venezuela (Renjifo et al. 2016, Hilty 2003). Consequently, the rate of population decline may in fact be higher than the rate of tree cover loss suggests. It is here tentatively placed in the band 20-29% over three generations, though a direct quantification is urgently required.

Crax daubentoni occurs in north and northwest Venezuela (north of the río Orinoco, Maracaibo basin, locally in Monagas and Sucre), and at a few localities in adjacent northeast Colombia (Sierra de Perijá and northern Llanos).

It is primarily restricted to gallery forests and tall scrub, but also lowland deciduous and evergreen forest, mostly at 100-800 m in Venezuela and up to 1,500 m in Colombia (del Hoyo 1994, Strahl et al. 1994, Strahl and Silva 1997, Bertsch and Barreto 2008, del Hoyo and Kirwan 2020). It rarely strays more than 250 m from forest cover (Buchholz and Bertsch 2006).

Subsistence hunting is thought to be the major cause of its continuing decline in Colombia, although studies are lacking (Buchholz and Bertsch 2006, Renjifo et al. 2016). It is heavily hunted for both food and sport in Venezuela, where parks and reserves are often focal points for local hunters, and is included in the Venezuelan sport-hunting calendar by the Venezuelan government (Strahl et al. 1994, Strahl and Silva 1997, Buchholz and Bertsch 2006). In areas where hunting is eliminated, populations recover slowly, but can grow large (Hilty 2003, C. J. Sharpe in litt. 2011).
Agricultural development and conversion to cropland and livestock pastures has cleared, fragmented and degraded forests within the range. In many parts of the Llanos, there has been extensive conversion to rice fields (del Hoyo 1994, Strahl et al. 1994).

Conservation Actions Underway
The species is listed as Endangered at the national level in Colombia (Renjifo et al. 2016). It occurs in several protected areas across its range.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Survey to determine the population size. Conduct long-term demographic studies to determine fecundity, mortality and dispersal ability. Quantify the impact of hunting on the population size. Monitor the population trend.
Protect areas of suitable habitat within the range. Effectively enforce hunting restrictions in protected areas. Establish educational programmes aimed at decreasing hunting pressure.

Text account compilers
Hermes, C.

Contributors
Benstead, P., Capper, D., Clay, R.P., Sharpe, C J, Symes, A. & Wheatley, H.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Yellow-knobbed Curassow Crax daubentoni. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/yellow-knobbed-curassow-crax-daubentoni on 23/12/2024.
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 23/12/2024.