Wattled Guan vs Rufous-headed Chachalaca
Aburria aburri compared with Ortalis erythroptera
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Wattled Guan | Rufous-headed Chachalaca |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Aburria aburri | Ortalis erythroptera |
| Order | Galliformes | Galliformes |
| Family | Cracidae | Cracidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Vulnerable |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 67.4 cm (26.5 in) | 43.8 cm (17.2 in) |
| Weight | 1398.3333333333333 g (49.32 oz) | 632.5 g (22.31 oz) |
| Diet | Frugivorous; eats fruits, berries, and leaves in Andean cloud forests of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and … | Frugivorous; eats fruits, berries, seeds, and leaves in Pacific slope forests and forest edges of … |
| Clutch Size | -- | 3 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Song & Call Comparison
Wattled Guan
Emits a loud, resonant, booming honk and wing-whirring display. The deep, carrying boom echoes through Andean cloud forest; wing-whirring display is powerful and conspicuous.
Rufous-headed Chachalaca
Emits a loud, raucous chachalaca chorus; individual calls are slightly higher than Rufous-vented. Dawn choruses carry across Ecuadorian and Peruvian coastal dry forest.
Geographic Range & Migration
Wattled Guan
Resident in the Andes from Venezuela and Colombia south to Bolivia at 500-2,200 m. Found in humid montane forest.
Rufous-headed Chachalaca
Resident in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. Found in tropical deciduous forest and scrub in the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena region.
Conservation Status
Wattled Guan
Rufous-headed Chachalaca
How to Tell Them Apart
Wattled Guan
Uniformly glossy greenish-black; prominent pendulous yellow-and-blue bare throat wattle; no white wing patches or streaking; legs dark grey. Striking yellow wattle is the sole bold adornment.
Rufous-headed Chachalaca
Brownish-olive body; head and upper neck warm rufous-cinnamon, distinctly contrasting with greyish-brown back; bare reddish throat wattle; underparts pale buff; tail dark with pale outer tips.
About These Birds
Wattled Guan
A large cracid (~1.4 kg) of family Cracidae, all-black with a distinctive yellow and blue wattle hanging from the throat. Inhabits montane cloud forests of the Andes from Venezuela and Colombia south to Peru, at 500–2,500 m elevation. Arboreal, feeding on fruits and seeds. Least Concern; inhabits remote Andean cloud forests where it remains relatively undisturbed.
Rufous-headed Chachalaca
A medium-sized cracid (~630 g) of family Cracidae, with a striking rufous head. Inhabits humid and deciduous forests, forest edges, and scrub in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. Feeds on fruits and leaves in the forest understory and canopy. Vulnerable due to extensive deforestation in the Tumbesian region, one of the world's most threatened biodiversity hotspots.