Rufous-bellied Chachalaca
Ortalis wagleri
Noisy, long-tailed game bird of tropical forest and edge, usually found in small groups. Endemic to west Mexico. Most often detected by its raucous song, which carries well. Feeds on ground and also high in trees, where runs along branches; eats fruit. For a big bird, can be surprisingly hard to see (wary in areas where hunted), and slips away from view quite easily. The dark rusty belly and tail tips are diagnostic. Inland from Puerto Vallarta, may hybridize with West Mexican Chachalaca.
Identification
The rufous-bellied chachalaca is 62 to 67 cm (2.0 to 2.2 ft) long and weighs about 834 g (1.8 lb). Most of its plumage is gray brown to olive brown, but its chestnut belly and tail tips make it the most richly colored member of its genus. It has bare pink and blue skin around the eye.
Taxonomy
The rufous-bellied chachalaca was at one time considered a subspecies of the West Mexican chachalaca (Ortalis poliocephala). It is monotypic, though the Sonoran population has been treated as a subspecies.
- Scientific name
- Ortalis wagleri
- Authority
- Gray, GR, 1867
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Cracidae
- Genus
- Ortalis
Range and habitat
The rufous-bellied chachalaca is found in western Mexico from southern Sonora south to northwestern Jalisco. It inhabits tropical deciduous, semi-deciduous, and thorn forest and, along the coast, mangroves. In elevation it usually ranges from sea level to 1,300 m (4,300 ft) but has been found as high as 2,000 m (6,600 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The rufous-bellied chachalaca forages in groups of up to 10, gleaning fruit from trees.<p>Little is known about the rufous-bellied chachalaca's breeding phenology. Its breeding season appears to center around June. The clutch size is usually three eggs.<p>The rufous-bellied chachalaca's principal vocalization is a " loud, rhythmic, 4–5-syllable, chorus 'kirr-i-i-kr', 'chrr-i-k-rr' or 'chrr-uh-uh-rr' to which is sometimes added "loud cackling, whistling, or growling notes."
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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