Justification This species qualifies as Endangered because its population is now estimated to be declining very rapidly owing to hunting and habitat destruction. It also has a small range and is known from few locations in a narrow altitudinal band, which is subject to habitat loss.

Family/Sub-family Cracidae

Species name author Bond & Meyer de Schauensee, 1939

Taxonomic source(s) SACC (2005 + updates), Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993), Stotz et al. (1996)

Synonyms Crax unicornis BirdLife International (2004), Crax unicornis Stotz et al. (1996)

Taxonomic note The two disjunct populations currently treated as subspecies are virtually certain to represent two different species as they are separated by more than 1000 km, differ in morphology, song, time of singing, altitude at which found, and habitat that they occupy²⁴

Identification 85-95 cm. Large, black cracid with long frontal casque. All-black, with white vent and tip to tail. Bright red bill and pale blue casque. In the Bolivian population the casque is an upright horn while in the Peruvian taxon koepckeae the casque is flattened against the head, shorter and rounder. Koepckeae also has only a thin white tip to the tail. The legs are normally pale red but yellowish in the male in the breeding season. Female like male, but also has a rufous colour phase. Voice In Bolivia song is a booming series of four phrases lasting c.9 seconds and repeated every 15 seconds, final phrase is a far carrying emphatic hmm. In Peru song appears to be a single booming phrase of 3 to 4 notes repeated every 4 seconds. Alarm call is an explosive disyllabic k-sop. Hints Best located when booming during the main part of the breeding season (probably August-December in Bolivia, November to March in Peru), but separation of Bolivian taxon from booming Razor-billed Curassow Mitu tuberosa is difficult unless close enough to hear all phrases.

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

1,000 - 4,999

decreasing

4,400 km²

No

Range & population Pauxi unicornis is known from two disjunct populations in central Bolivia and central Peru. The nominate subspecies is known from the adjacent Amboró and Carrasco National Parks^2,6,9,10 and has recently been found in Isiboro-Secure Indigenous Territory and National Park (TIPNIS) and along the outer edge of the Cordillera Mosetenes, Cochabamba, Bolivia²³. It was formerly found along the length of Carrasco's northern boundary⁹, but recent surveys found it in very few locations here²³. Despite the apparently large gap in its range⁵, extensive searches over several years have failed to locate the species in Madidi National Park, La Paz, Bolivia^13,15,17, in the rio Tambopata area near the Peru/Bolivia border^14,19 and in the Cordillera Cocapata and along the inner edge of Cordillera Mosetenes in Cochabamba^13,23. The subspecies koepckeae , known only from the Cerros del Sira in Huánuco, Peru, had gone unrecorded since its description in 1969 but its continued presence was established by local knowledge surveys in 2003 and observations in 2005²¹. Previous field surveys, including one in 2004, found no birds and local reports suggest that it is very rare here^14,15,16. The total population for the subspecies in Peru is estimated to be less than 400 individuals in Cerros del Sira¹⁸,with evidence that its numbers are declining¹⁹. The species occurs at densities of up to 20 individuals/km², although this appears to be exceptional and at most sites only one or two individuals have been found²³.

Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded and triggers any of the IBA criteria.

Ecology: The nominate taxon inhabits dense, humid, lower montane forest and adjacent lowland evergreen forest at 450-1,400 m^{9, 21, 22}. For much of the year it stays above 550 m, but descends in the dry season¹¹. At any one part of its range the species tends to be restricted to an altitudinal band of c.500 m but the upper and lower limits of this vary from location to location. The Peruvian taxon inhabits cloud forest which in Cerros del Sira is found at altitudes of around 1100-1450 m and above, although in the dry season individuals have also occasionally been found somewhat lower (down to 950 m) along the upper edge adjacent montane forest. Its diet consists of fruit, seeds, soft plants, larvae and insects. Display songs and pairing have been noted from August⁹, with a nest found during October². The clutch-size is probably two²³ (as in other Cracidae, although in the only nest over found there was only one egg) and consequently it has a low reproductive rate^1,2,11. In Peru the peak singing (and presumably breeding) period appears to be in February and March²³.

Threats In Bolivia, forests within its altitudinal range are being cleared for the cultivation of staple and export crops by recent colonists from the altiplano^{3,4, 22}. Road-building and associated rural development have a negative impact and inhibit dispersal^4,6. Hunting for its meat seems to be the biggest threat in both Bolivia and Peru and is likely to be having a serious negative impact in all parts of its range²¹. In Peru, subsistence agriculture threatens its habitat⁹, as does opening up the foothills to colonisation and hunting. Mining, oil exploration and illegal logging are potential future threats in El Sira as well as forest clearance by colonists.

Conservation measures underway Large parts of its range are theoretically protected by Amboró and Carrasco National Parks and TIPNIS, and it was recorded within the El Sira Communal Reserve although hunting still takes place here^18,19. Extensive surveys have been conducted in recent years, although they have met with little success in locating the species in many areas^{13,14,15,16, 17}. An education project to combat hunting and raise awareness was carried out in the Sira mountains in 2005²⁰.

Conservation measures proposed Nominate unicornis (Bolivia): Conduct field studies to locate and estimate the size of the surviving population and to determine its conservation requirements and vulnerability to human encroachment. Work with the Carrasco and Amboro National Parks and local communities to develop and implement conservation management plans for the species and its habitat. Develop work with local educators and schools to inform local people about the conservation importance and uniqueness of the species and its habitat to their area. Work with local communities to promote a community based hunting ban for the species and to reduce human pressure on its habitat. Identify and implement measures that will measurably improve the livelihoods of the local communities in return for their assistance in conserving the species. Taxon koepckae (Peru): Continue working with communities around Cerros del Sira in conducting local knowledge surveys about the distribution of the species and in raising awareness of its unique status. Identify and implement measures that will measurably improve the livelihoods of the local indigenous communities in return for their essential assistance in conserving the species through a community enforced hunting ban. Obtain a series of sound recordings and behavioural observations to be used in combination with the known physical differences to determine if the Peruvian taxon is a unique species. Conduct field studies of the ecology of the Peruvian taxon in order to estimate the size of the surviving population, determine its conservation requirements and vulnerability to human encroachment. Work with INRENA (the protected areas authority) to develop and implement a conservation management plan for the species and its habitat.²⁵

References Collar et al. (1992). 1. Banks (1998). 2. Cox et al. (1997). 3. Dinerstein et al. (1995). 4. J. Fjeldså in litt. (1999). 5. B. Hennessey in litt. (1999). 6. Herzog and Kessler (1998). 7. Herzog et al. (1999). 8. H. Lloyd in litt. (1999). 9. R. MacLeod in litt. (2000). 10. Mee (1999). 11. Renjifo and Renjifo (1997). 12. Young and León (1999). 13. R. MacLeod in litt. (2003). 14. R. MacLeod in litt. (2004). 15. A. Maccormack in litt. (2004). 16. Mee et al. (2002). 17. Hennessey (2004a). ). 17. Hennessey (2004). 18. Gastañaga in litt. (2007). 19. Gastañaga and Hennessey (2005). 20. Gastañaga (2005). 21. Gastañaga (2006). 22. Maillard (2006). 23. R. MacLeod in litt. (2007). 24. Gastañaga et al. (in prep). 25. MacLeod et al. (2006).

Further web sources of information

Fully detailed species account from the Threatened birds of the Americas: the BirdLife International Red Data Book (BirdLife International 1992). Please note, taxonomic treatment and IUCN Red List category may have changed since publication.

Recuento detallado de la especie tomado del libro Aves Amenazadas de las Americas, Libro Rojo de BirdLife International (BirdLife International 1992). Nota: la taxonomoía y la categoría de la Lista Roja de la UICN pudo haber cambiado desde esta publicación.

Text account compilers Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), Aidan Keane (World Pheasant Association), Andy Symes (BirdLife International)

Contributors Jon Fjeldså (University of Copenhagen), Melvin Gastañaga (Asociación Armonía), A. Bennett Hennessey (Asociación Armonía), Huw Lloyd (Manchester Metropolitan University), Aidan Maccormack (University of Glasgow), Ross MacLeod (University of Glasgow)

IUCN Red List evaluators Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Phil McGowan (World Pheasant Association), Alison Stattersfield (BirdLife International), Andy Symes (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Pauxi unicornis. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 9/2/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

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