After Years of Trying, San Diego Zoo Safari Park Celebrates First Blue-Billed Curassow Chick

The San Diego Zoo Safari Park is celebrating yet another landmark achievement this weekend with the successful hatching of a critically endangered bird, years in the making.

The blue-billed curassow (Crax alberti) has fewer than 1,500 birds remaining in the wild.

A blue-billed curassow, or paujíl , is a medium-large glossy black bird with a head crest and the striking blue beak that gives the species its name. They once lived over vast swaths of South America's moist lowland forests and are endemic to Colombia, but they are now critically endangered due to habitat loss and climate change.

The species is important to the health of its local ecosystems in its native environment, primarily acting as a forager and seed disperser in the wild.

The appearance of this chick came after nine years of dedicated work with this species by Safari Park bird specialists.

The Safari Park's Bird Conservation Center spans more than four acres, making it one of the largest off-habitat bird centers in North America. The center provides care for endangered and non-endangered birds from around the world, as well as birds that are extinct in the wild, housing up to 300 birds at a time.