Chestnut-winged Chachalaca
Ortalis garrula
Long-tailed, chickenlike bird restricted to the lowlands of northern Colombia. The chestnut wings may be hidden from view when the bird is perched. It can be separated from the similar Rufous-vented Chachalaca by its white belly and pale (not rusty) tail tips. Distinguished from Colombian Chachalaca by lack of scaling on head and breast. Inhabits lightly wooded areas and mangroves. Easier to see early in the morning and late in the afternoon when it often perches up in the open and gives loud, raucous calls.
Identification
The chestnut-winged chachalaca is 53 to 60 cm (1.7 to 2.0 ft) long. One male weighed 755 g (1.7 lb) and a female 630 g (1.4 lb). Both sexes have brown upperparts that are lighter on the crown and nape; the tail is dark gray-brown with a white tip. The throat and upper breast are also brown with a sharp demarcation between it and the white lower breast, flanks, and belly. The primary flight feathers are bright chestnut. The eye is surrounded by bare reddish to black skin.
Taxonomy
The chestnut-winged chachalaca was at one time treated as conspecific with the grey-headed chachalaca (Ortalis cinereiceps). It is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Ortalis garrula
- Authority
- (Humboldt, 1805)
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Cracidae
- Genus
- Ortalis
Range and habitat
The chestnut-winged chachalaca is found in northern Colombia in an area roughly bounded on the west by the Sinú River, in the east by the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and in the south by the lower Cauca and Magdalena River valleys. It inhabits a variety of landscapes characterized by thick vegetation such as scrubby deciduous forest, arid scrub, tropical thickets, and mangroves. It shuns the interior of dense forest but can be found on its edges. In elevation it ranges from sea level to about 800 m (2,600 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The chestnut-winged chachalaca forages in groups of up to eight, generally in trees but sometimes on the ground. In contrast to some other chachalacas, it is quiet as it gleans. Its diet is both fruits and leaves, with more of the former eaten during the rainy season and the latter during the dry season.<p>The chestnut-winged chachalaca breeds during the dry season, between January and April. The nest is a simple platform placed in a tree. The clutch size can be up to four eggs.<p>The chestnut-winged chachalaca is vocal throughout the year (mostly at dawn) but more so during the breeding season. The most commonly heard sound is a duet rendered as "wha-cha-rá" that carries a great distance.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Mauritius Fody
Foudia rubra
A sparrow-like weaver. Red-hooded breeding males are distinctive, but females and non-breeding males are drab. A rare Mauritius endemic that is found in and adjacent to humid forest and woodland. Can be very similar to Red Fody. Breeding male Mauritius Fody lacks red on the back and belly, though molting male Red Fody can match this pattern. Females and non-breeding males very similar to Red Fody, but Mauritius Fody is darker and more greenish, with a longer, slimmer, slightly curved bill. Also similar to female House Sparrow, but distinguished by the thinner bill. Calls include high, silvery notes and lower-pitched “vet” notes. Both are sometimes given in a series.
Tawny Fish-Owl
Ketupa flavipes
A large brown owl with wide yellow eyes and sideways-drooping ear tufts; rich tawny brown plumage with black mottling unique in its range. Always found in close proximity to rivers or lakes, usually roosting in dense waterside groves by day. Hunts fish from a low perch at dusk and at night. Hunting birds are seldom observed, as they hunt from tangles and other dense vegetation. Other horned owls in range are either much smaller (Long-eared Owl, scops-owls) or much larger (Eurasian Eagle-Owl). Pairs duet, giving 2-3 deep hoots; younger birds beg with higher-pitched screeching calls.
White-throated Fantail
Rhipidura albicollis
A distinctive fantail, all dark except for a white throat and a short white eyebrow. The tail, often fanned, is a shade darker with white tips to all tail feathers except the central pair. Juvenile is like adult, but with reduced white on face and brownish edges to the dark body feathers. Gives very harsh contact calls. Song is a musical phrase of 6-7 notes that ascends first and then descends. Found in a wide range of wooded habitats, from dense forest to forest edge and gardens, from lowlands up into the mountains.
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