Mitu (bird)
Encyclopedia
Mitu is a genus of curassow
s, large bird
s in the family Cracidae
. They are found in humid tropical forests in South America
. Their plumage
is iridescent black with a white or rufous crissum and tail-tip, and their legs and bills are red. The genders are alike.
Curassow
Curassows are one of the three major groups of cracid birds. Three of the four genera are restricted to tropical South America; a single species of Crax ranges north to Mexico...
s, large bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s in the family Cracidae
Cracidae
The chachalacas, guans and curassows are birds in the family Cracidae.These are species of tropical and subtropical Central and South America. One species, the Plain Chachalaca, just reaches southernmost Texas in the USA...
. They are found in humid tropical forests in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. Their plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
is iridescent black with a white or rufous crissum and tail-tip, and their legs and bills are red. The genders are alike.
Species
- Crestless CurassowCrestless CurassowThe Crestless Curassow is a species of bird in the Cracidae family.It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, and Venezuela.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
, Mitu tomentosum - Alagoas CurassowAlagoas CurassowThe Alagoas Curassow, Mitu mitu, is a large, mainly glossy black pheasant-like bird. It was formerly found in forests in north-eastern Brazil, but it is now extinct in the wild. A captive population exists...
, Mitu mitu - extinct in the wildExtinct in the WildExtinct in the Wild is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa, the only known living members of which are being kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range.-Examples:...
(mid-late 1980s) - Salvin's CurassowSalvin's CurassowThe Salvin's Curassow is a species of bird in the Cracidae family.It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests....
, Mitu salvini - Razor-billed CurassowRazor-billed CurassowThe Razor-billed Curassow is a species of bird in the Cracidae family. It is found throughout a large part of the Amazon Rainforest, though largely restricted to regions south of the Amazon River. Unlike other members of the genus Mitu, its crissum is deep chestnut and the tail-tip is white...
, Mitu tuberosum