Red-billed Curassow vs Grey-headed Chachalaca
Crax blumenbachii compared with Ortalis cinereiceps
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Red-billed Curassow | Grey-headed Chachalaca |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Crax blumenbachii | Ortalis cinereiceps |
| Order | Galliformes | Galliformes |
| Family | Cracidae | Cracidae |
| Conservation Status | Endangered | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 76.8 cm (30.2 in) | 41.1 cm (16.2 in) |
| Weight | 3250.0 g (114.64 oz) | 566.5 g (19.98 oz) |
| Diet | Eats large fruits, seeds, and invertebrates on Atlantic forest floor in Brazil. Critically endangered; diet … | Frugivorous and folivorous; eats fruits, berries, leaves, and buds in Central American forest edges and … |
| Clutch Size | 1-3 | 3 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Song & Call Comparison
Red-billed Curassow
Emits a deep, resonant booming call; contact calls are loud, guttural clucking. Endangered; the powerful boom echoes through remnant Atlantic forest; increasingly scarce.
Grey-headed Chachalaca
Produces a loud, raucous cha-cha-lac chorus at dawn; individual notes are hoarser and lower than Plain Chachalaca. Groups call antiphonally from treetops in Central American forest edge.
Geographic Range & Migration
Red-billed Curassow
Endemic to the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil in Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo. Found in lowland humid forest. Critically endangered.
Grey-headed Chachalaca
Resident from Honduras south through Central America to Panama and northwestern Colombia. Found in humid forest and dense vegetation.
Conservation Status
Red-billed Curassow
Grey-headed Chachalaca
How to Tell Them Apart
Red-billed Curassow
Male is glossy black with white lower belly; curly black crest; vivid red bill with no knob; no yellow facial skin. Female is black barred chestnut; bright red bill is …
Grey-headed Chachalaca
Olive-brown body; head and neck distinctly grey contrasting with brownish back; bare reddish throat skin; underparts pale buff-grey; tail graduated, brown with paler tips on outer feathers.
About These Birds
Red-billed Curassow
A large cracid (~3.3 kg) of family Cracidae, males black with a red and yellow bill. Endemic to a small area of Atlantic Forest in Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais, Brazil. Inhabits humid lowland and foothill rainforest. Forages on the forest floor for fallen fruits and seeds. Endangered; fewer than 250 mature individuals remain following severe Atlantic Forest loss and overhunting.
Grey-headed Chachalaca
A medium-sized cracid (~565 g) of family Cracidae, with a distinctive grey head and olive-brown body. Inhabits humid tropical forests, forest edges, and scrublands from Honduras south to northwestern Colombia. Forages in groups for fruits, berries, leaves, and insects in the understory and canopy. Least Concern; common throughout its range in Central American lowlands.