Great Curassow vs Rufous-headed Chachalaca
Crax rubra compared with Ortalis erythroptera
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Great Curassow | Rufous-headed Chachalaca |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Crax rubra | Ortalis erythroptera |
| Order | Galliformes | Galliformes |
| Family | Cracidae | Cracidae |
| Conservation Status | Vulnerable | Vulnerable |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 76.2 cm (30.0 in) | 43.8 cm (17.2 in) |
| Weight | 3756.1666666666665 g (132.49 oz) | 632.5 g (22.31 oz) |
| Diet | Eats large fallen fruits, seeds, and invertebrates on forest floor in Central and South American … | 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
Great Curassow
Emits a deep, resonant booming call; male also produces loud, crowing notes. The powerful boom carries through Central American and northwestern South American tropical forest at dawn.
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
Great Curassow
Resident from Mexico through Central America south to western Ecuador and Colombia. Found in lowland and foothill humid forest to 1,500 m.
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
Great Curassow
Rufous-headed Chachalaca
How to Tell Them Apart
Great Curassow
Male glossy black with white belly and curly black crest; bright yellow knob at bill base; female dimorphic with three morphs: barred brown, rufous, or black, all with barred tails …
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
Great Curassow
A large cracid (~3.8 kg) of family Cracidae, males black with a curly yellow-knobbed crest, females brown-barred. Found in humid lowland and montane forests from Mexico to northwestern Colombia. Forages on the forest floor and low vegetation for fallen fruits, seeds, and invertebrates. Vulnerable due to deforestation throughout Central America and hunting for bushmeat.
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.