Rufous-headed Chachalaca

Ortalis erythroptera

Vulnerable · IUCN Red List

VUVulnerableFruitForestPlatform nestLarge · 632 g

What the Rufous-headed Chachalaca sounds like

Sonogram of the Rufous-headed Chachalaca: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · El Oro: between Zaruma and Loja, 919 m, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Rufous-headed Chachalaca: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call, display calls · Esmeraldas: 11 km WSW Same, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The rufous-headed chachalaca is 56 to 66 cm (1.8 to 2.2 ft) long and weighs 620 to 645 g (1.4 to 1.4 lb). It has a rufous head and neck and gray-brown back. The central tail feathers are dark gray and the outer ones gray near the body and chestnut on their outer halves. The lower breast and belly are creamy white. The primary flight feathers are bright chestnut. Its brown eye is surrounded by bare bluish gray skin. The legs are pale blue. Voice: The rufous-headed chachalaca is most vocal from before dawn into the early morning. Its principal call is a "raucous, repeated 'kwak-ar-ar-ar', 'cha-cha-kaw' or shriller 'kra-kra-kra'", and is usually initiated by the male. Pairs give several calls "including a soft cooing or clucking, harsh 'cow', and fast, repeated 'kawuck'."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Rufous-headed Chachalaca

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is December, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Rufous-headed Chachalaca

Regular range

The map shades 3 countries with regular records. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

About the Rufous-headed Chachalaca

The rufous-headed chachalaca is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Side by side: Rufous-headed Chachalaca vs White-bellied Chachalaca · Chestnut-winged Chachalaca vs Rufous-headed Chachalaca · Rufous-headed Chachalaca vs Scaled Chachalaca · Little Chachalaca vs Rufous-headed Chachalaca

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