凤冠雉科科

下属物种

凤冠雉亚科（Cracinae）

• 夜冠雉属（Nothocrax）
• 盔嘴雉属（Mitu）
• 盔凤冠雉属（Pauxi）
• 凤冠雉属（Crax）

冠雉亚科（Penelopinae）

• 稚冠雉属（Ortalis）
• 冠雉属（Penelope）
• 鸣冠雉属（Pipile）
• 肉垂冠雉属（Aburria）
• 镰翅冠雉属（Chamaepetes）
• 山冠雉属（Penelopina）
• 角冠雉属（Oreophasis）

The chachalacas, guans, and curassows are birds in the family Cracidae. These are species of tropical and subtropical Central and South America. The range of one species, the plain chachalaca, just reaches southernmost parts of Texas in the United States. Two species, the Trinidad piping guan and the rufous-vented chachalaca occur on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago respectively.

Systematics and evolution

The family Cracidae was introduced (as Craxia) by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815. The Cracidae are an ancient group that were thought to be related to the Australasian mound-builders of family Megapodiidae. The two families were sometimes placed in a distinct order, Craciformes, as in Munroe and Sibley's 1993 World Checklist of Birds. However, the group is not monophyletic and more recent phylogenetic studies have found Megapodiidae and Cracidae to be successive early branching lineages of Galliformes.

Internal Phylogeny

Cladogram based on the study by De Chen and collaborators published in 2021. The numbers of species are from the list maintained by Frank Gill, Pamela Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithologists' Union.

Classification

Extinct species assignment follows the Mikko's Phylogeny Archive and Paleofile.com websites.

• Genus †Procrax Tordoff & Macdonald 1957
• †Procrax brevipes Tordoff & Macdonald 1957
• Genus †Paleophasianus Wetmore 1940
• †Paleophasianus meleagroides Wetmore 1940
• Genus †Taoperdix Milne-Edwards 1869
• †Taoperdix pesseiti (Gervais 1862) Milne-Edwards 1869
• Subfamily Penelopinae (Guans)
• Genus Aburria Reichenbach 1853
• Subgenus (Aburria)
• Wattled guan, Aburria aburri (Lesson 1828) Reichenbach 1853
• Subgenus (Pipile) Bonaparte 1856 (piping guans)
• Black-fronted piping guan, Pipile jacutinga (von Spix 1825)
• Red-throated piping guan, Pipile cujubi (Pelzeln 1858)
• Trinidad piping guan, Pipile pipile (Jacquin 1784)
• Blue-throated piping guan, Pipile cumanensis (Jacquin 1784)
• White-throated piping guan, Pipile grayi (Pelzeln 1858)
• Genus Chamaepetes Wagler 1832
• Black guan, Chamaepetes unicolor Salvin 1867
• Sickle-winged guan, Chamaepetes goudotii (Lesson 1828)
• Genus Penelope Merrem 1786 (15 species)
• Band-tailed guan, Penelope argyrotis (Bonaparte 1856)
• Bearded guan, Penelope barbata Chapman 1921
• Baudo guan, Penelope ortoni Salvin 1874
• Andean guan, Penelope montagnii (Bonaparte 1856)
• Marail guan, Penelope marail (Müller 1776)
• Rusty-margined guan, Penelope superciliaris Temminck 1815
• Red-faced/Dabbene's guanPenelope dabbenei Hellmayr & Conover 1942
• Crested guan, Penelope purpurascens Wagler 1830
• Cauca guan, Penelope perspicax Bangs 1911
• White-winged guan, Penelope albipennis Taczanowski 1878
• Spix's guan, Penelope jacquacu von Spix 1825
• Dusky-legged guan, Penelope obscura Temminck 1815
• White-crested guan, Penelope pileata Wagler 1830
• Chestnut-bellied guan, Penelope ochrogaster Pelzeln 1870
• White-browed guan, Penelope jacucaca von Spix 1825
• Genus Penelopina Reichenbach 1861
• Highland guan, Penelopina nigra (Fraser 1852) Reichenbach 1861
• Subfamily Cracinae
• Tribe Ortalidini Donegan 2012
• Genus Ortalis Merrem 1786 (chachalacas, 16 species)
• †Ortalis affinis Feduccia & Wilson 1967
• †Ortalis phengites Wetmore 1923
• †Ortalis pollicaris Miller 1944
• †Ortalis tantala Wetmore 1933
• Plain chachalaca, Ortalis vetula (Wagler 1830)
• Grey-headed chachalaca, Ortalis cinereiceps Gray 1867
• Chestnut-winged chachalaca, Ortalis garrula (von Humboldt 1805)
• Rufous-vented chachalaca, Ortalis ruficauda Jardine 1847
• Rufous-headed chachalaca, Ortalis erythroptera Sclater & Salvin 1870

Description

Cracids are large birds, similar in general appearance to turkeys. The guans and curassows live in trees, but the smaller chachalacas are found in more open scrubby habitats. Many species are fairly long tailed, which may be an aide to navigating their largely arboreal existence. They are generally dull-plumaged, but the curassows and some guans have colourful facial ornaments. The birds in this family are particularly vocal, with the chachalacas taking their name from the sound of their call. Cracids range in size from the little chachalaca (Ortalis motmot), at as little as 38 cm (15 in) and 350 g (12 oz), to the great curassow (Crax rubra), at nearly 1 m (39 in) and 4.3 kg (9.5 lb).

Behaviour and ecology

These species feed on fruit, insects and worms. They build nests in trees, and lay two to three large white eggs, which only the female incubates alone. The young are precocial and are born with an instinct to immediately climb and seek refuge in the nesting tree. They are able to fly within days of hatching.