Chachalaca de ala castaña

Ortalis garrula

Ave similar a una gallina, de cola larga, restringida a las tierras bajas del norte de Colombia. Las alas castañas pueden estar ocultas a la vista cuando el ave está posada. Se puede distinguir de la Chachalaca de Vientre Rufo (Ortalis ruficauda), similar, por su vientre blanco y las puntas de la cola pálidas (no rojizas). Se distingue de la Chachalaca Colombiana (Ortalis columbiana) por la falta de escamado en la cabeza y el pecho. Habita zonas ligeramente arboladas y manglares. Más fácil de ver temprano por la mañana y al final de la tarde, cuando a menudo se posa a la vista y emite llamadas fuertes y estridentes.

Identificación

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.

Taxonomía

The chestnut-winged chachalaca was at one time treated as conspecific with the grey-headed chachalaca (Ortalis cinereiceps). It is monotypic.

Nombre científico
Ortalis garrula
Autoridad
(Humboldt, 1805)
Orden
Galliformes
Familia
Crácidos
Género
Ortalis

Distribución y hábitat

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).

Migración
Resident species

Comportamiento

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.

Conservación

Tendencia poblacional
stable

Fotos

Distribución

Cantos de Aves

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