abstract
| - The Alagoas Curassow (Mitu mitu), is a species of glossy-black curassow. It was formerly found in forests in It was formerly found in forests in north eastern parts of north eastern parts of Brazil such as Pernambuco and Alagoas (hence its name) (Harry 2006), but it is now extinct in the wild; there are about 130 members in captivity. German naturalist J. Marcgrave first identified the Alagoas curassow in 1648 along the north-eastern coast of Brazil. However, in later years, opinion about the origin and legitimacy of the bird began to arise due to the lack of evidence. It was only after 1951, in the coastal forests of Alagoas, North-East Brazil, where an adult female curassow was rediscovered. It was then that the Mitu mitu began to be regarded as a specific taxon (Silveira). In the forests of São Miguel dos Campos the Mitu mitu was detected, again in 1951. At that time fewer than 60 birds were left in the wild (Silveira). Several authors in the 1970s brought to light the growing destruction of its habitat and the rarity of the species. Even with all of this concern, the last large forest remnants where the Mitu mitu lived were demolished to make space for sugarcane plantations (Silveira).
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