Chaco Chachalaca
Ortalis canicollis
Large noisy bird with a long tail. Rather uniform brown plumage with little contrast between its head and the rest of the body. Inhabits swampy forest, savanna, and second growth, where found in groups which may exceed 30 individuals. Feeds on fruits and seeds on the ground or in trees. Gives a typical loud chachalaca song, a rollicking duet “bink, ka chee chaw raw taw, chaw raw taw, chaw raw taw.” Calls include a low “cha-cha-cha.”
Identification
The Chaco chachalaca is 50 to 56 cm (1.6 to 1.8 ft) long and weighs 479 to 678 g (1.1 to 1.5 lb). The nominate subspecies' head, back, and breast are gray and the belly tan to brown. It has bare pinkish red skin around the eye. O. c. pantanalensis is browner and the facial skin is more purplish than pinkish.
Taxonomy
The Chaco chachalaca has two recognized subspecies, the nominate Ortalis canicollis canicollis (Wagler, 1830) and O. c. pantanalensis (Cherrie and Reichenberger, 1921). The latter might actually be a subspecies of plain chachalaca (O. vetula) or a species in its own right. The Paraguayan population has been treated as a separate subspecies but that status has not been generally accepted.
- Scientific name
- Ortalis canicollis
- Authority
- (Wagler, 1830)
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Cracidae
- Genus
- Ortalis
Range and habitat
The nominate subspecies of Chaco chachalaca is found in the Gran Chaco of eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, and northern Argentina. O. c. pantanalensis is found in southwestern Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul of Brazil. There are also unconfirmed reports of it in neighboring Bolivia and Paraguay. The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society considers the species to be hypothetical in Uruguay.<p>The Chaco chachalaca inhabits a variety of landscapes including lowland swamp forest and scrub, dry subtropical forest, semi-deciduous and gallery forest, and palm groves. It can be found in both mature and secondary forest. In Brazil and Paraguay it is found only at low elevations but can be found as high as about 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in Argentina.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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