Srbek-Araujo et al. • RED-BILLED CURASSQW BEHAVIOR 
325 
FIG 3. Overall record of frequency of Red-billed Curas sows by I -hr intervals obtained during 3 years of study in Vale 
Natural Reserve. Brazil. 
Farm (adjacent to Vale Natural Reserve and 
Soorctama Biological Reserve) where single 
males have been recorded with up to four females 
iGustavo Magnago, pers. comm.). However, use 
of camera traps may underestimate polygyny in 
this species. For example, if individuals are not 
close to each other, it is possible for a group to 
pass by the camera, but only the individuals 
nearest to the one that triggers the camera are 
captured. Thus, if camera recycling is in process, 
the first individual is photographed and the 
remaining members of the group are not necessary 
captured on film. 
We captured pairs from May to January. Pairs 
may be seen together even when not breeding 
• Wied 1821). and capturing pairs with cameras 
does not imply that reproduction is occurring. The 
breeding season is unknown at the Vale Natural 
Reserve but capture of females with two young 
females in July 2005 suggests the pattern is 
similar to that elsewhere. The reproductive period 
of Red-billed Curassows is poorly known and the 
first nest was not discovered until 1979 near Vale 
Natural Reserve (Teixeira and Snow 1982). An 
egg was found fallen from a nest near Itubera, 
Bahia, in December 2007 (Lima et al. 2008) and 
young were seen in August and September 
I Teixeira and Snow 1982). October (H. Sick, 
pers. comm, in Delacour and Arnadon 1973). and 
January (Scott and Brooke 1985). 
Red Curassows were most active in the early 
morning and less so during mid day. The late 
afternoon activity peak suggests movement to 
night roosts. Other mostly terrestrial cracids, 
such as Crcix fasciolata, C. alector. Mini tomen- 
tosa, and M. tuberosa (L. F. Silveira, pers. obs.), 
follow a similar pattern. Our data also suggest 
seasonal changes in Red-billed Curassow habitat use 
in the Vale Natural Reserve. Red-billed Curassows 
were recorded more during the dry season when 
cameras were placed along roads (first year), and the 
number of captures was higher in the wet season in 
the forest interior (second and third years). These 
movement patterns may indicate changes in habi¬ 
tat use as a reflection of the variation in resource 
abundance throughout the year. The diet of Red¬ 
billed Curassows includes lleshy and sweet fruits or 
hard seeds, leaves, invertebrates, and even small 
vertebrates (Sick 1997, IB AM A and Ministerio do 
Meio Ambiente 2004), most of which they find on 
the forest floor; thus, it is likely that availability of 
food resources varies seasonally. Foraging in the dry 
season may be more profitable along roads due to 
food resources (flowers, faiits. seeds) provided by 
secondary vegetation along roads and the ease in 
finding them in open areas. 
The higher number of captures of Red-billed 
Curassows in the northern area of the reserve may 
be due to: larger concentration of streams, larger 
area of Tabuleiro forest, and the proximity of 
this region to the Sooretama Biological Reserve. 
Another potential factor that cannot be discarded 
is differential hunting pressure, as the south and 
west regions apparently are more visited by 
