Sickle-winged Guan vs Rufous-headed Chachalaca
Chamaepetes goudotii compared with Ortalis erythroptera
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Sickle-winged Guan | Rufous-headed Chachalaca |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Chamaepetes goudotii | Ortalis erythroptera |
| Order | Galliformes | Galliformes |
| Family | Cracidae | Cracidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Vulnerable |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 50.7 cm (20.0 in) | 43.8 cm (17.2 in) |
| Weight | 702.0 g (24.76 oz) | 632.5 g (22.31 oz) |
| Diet | Frugivorous; eats fruits, berries, seeds, and leaves in Andean foothill and montane forests. Forages at … | Frugivorous; eats fruits, berries, seeds, and leaves in Pacific slope forests and forest edges of … |
| Clutch Size | 2-3 | 3 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Song & Call Comparison
Sickle-winged Guan
Emits a loud, resonant cackling call and loud wing-whirring. The guan call carries through Andean cloud forest; wing-whirring display flight is a diagnostic feature in the mountains.
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
Sickle-winged Guan
Resident in the Andes from Colombia south to Bolivia at 1,500-3,400 m. Found in humid cloud 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
Sickle-winged Guan
Rufous-headed Chachalaca
How to Tell Them Apart
Sickle-winged Guan
Dark chestnut-brown above and on breast; lower belly rufous-chestnut; bare blue facial skin around eye; wings distinctively curved sickle-like; no wattle; tail dark brown.
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
Sickle-winged Guan
A medium-sized cracid (~700 g) of family Cracidae, with sickle-shaped outer primaries and blue facial skin. Inhabits humid Andean cloud forests and forest edges from Colombia to Bolivia at 900–3,000 m elevation. Arboreal, feeding mainly on small fruits and berries. Least Concern; widely distributed in the Andean cloud forest zone and common in undisturbed montane habitats.
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.