Wattled Curassow vs Rufous-headed Chachalaca
Crax globulosa compared with Ortalis erythroptera
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Wattled Curassow | Rufous-headed Chachalaca |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Crax globulosa | Ortalis erythroptera |
| Order | Galliformes | Galliformes |
| Family | Cracidae | Cracidae |
| Conservation Status | Endangered | Vulnerable |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 69.9 cm (27.5 in) | 43.8 cm (17.2 in) |
| Weight | 2500.0 g (88.18 oz) | 632.5 g (22.31 oz) |
| Diet | Eats large fruits, seeds, and invertebrates on floors of Amazonian várzea forests. Vulnerable; forages along … | Frugivorous; eats fruits, berries, seeds, and leaves in Pacific slope forests and forest edges of … |
| Clutch Size | 2 | 3 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Song & Call Comparison
Wattled Curassow
Emits a deep, resonant booming call and guttural contact clucking. Endangered; the deep boom carries through Amazonian flooded forest (várzea); increasingly rarely heard.
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 Curassow
Resident in the upper Amazon Basin from Colombia and Peru south to Bolivia and Brazil. Found in lowland and flooded várzea 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 Curassow
Rufous-headed Chachalaca
How to Tell Them Apart
Wattled Curassow
Male glossy black with white belly; curly black crest; dark red knob and wattle at bill base; no yellow. Female black with pale barring; reddish bill ornaments present but smaller. …
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 Curassow
A large cracid (~2.5 kg) of family Cracidae, males black with a distinctive globular red wattle and curly crest. Inhabits seasonally flooded várzea and igapó forests along major Amazon and Orinoco river systems. Forages for fruits and seeds near water. Endangered; highly dependent on flooded forest habitats that are increasingly affected by dam construction and deforestation.
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.