Diet of the Yellow-knobbed Curassow in the Central Venezuelan Llanos

Curassows (Cracidae) are important components of the avian biomass in neotropical frugivorous bird communities. However, their feeding habits and ecological role remain unclear. We identified the diet of wild Yellow-knobbed Curassow (Crax daubentoni) based on analyses of feces and direct observations from November 2001 to July 2002 in a tropical dry forest in central Venezuela. We also analyzed stomach contents from specimens collected in different localities throughout the Llanos region. The diet of curassows included fruits (41 and 49% of dry weight in feces and stomach contents, respectively), seeds (15 and 48%), leaves (39 and 0.7%), minerals (stones, earth; 4.3 and 1.1%), and small proportions of flowers, roots, fungus, seedlings, and invertebrates (insects, Order Coleoptera), each