Scaled Chachalaca vs White-bellied Chachalaca

Scaled Chachalaca

Ortalis squamata

Large548 gShrubland

The scaled chachalaca is about 50 cm (1.6 ft) long. One male weighed about 620 g (1.4 lb) and a female 498 g (1.1 lb). Its plumage is mostly shades of brown, darker on the upperside. The breast is also dark brown with pale feather edges that give a scalloped or scaly effect. The belly is buffy and the vent chestnut. It has a small pinkish throat patch. The bare skin around the dark eye is slate gray. Voice: The scaled chachalaca's song is "a raucous, very noisy but highly variable 'racket', given in duet or chorus from multiple individuals, cacataPOOP, cacataPOP, cacataWHUMP, cacataWEEcata on pitch." It also makes "an irregular but sometimes rhythmic cackling or throaty bubbling, cuhcuh-cuhCAHcuhcuhcucCAH cuhcuhcuhcuh...."

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Fabrício Mil Homens Riella · CC BY 4.0

White-bellied Chachalaca

Ortalis leucogastra

Large496 gWoodland

The white-bellied chachalaca is 43 to 50 cm (1.4 to 1.6 ft) long and weighs 439 to 560 g (0.97 to 1.2 lb). Its head, upperparts, and breast are brown and the belly dull white. Its brown tail is tipped with white. Bare dark slate facial skin surrounds the eye. Voice: The white-bellied chachalaca's principal vocalization is "a gruff, burry chattering of four syllables 'k-ku’uh-uh' or 'ch-k-uh-urr'."

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Daniel Pineda Vera · CC BY 4.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Scaled Chachalaca and White-bellied Chachalaca.