Crestless Curassow vs West Mexican Chachalaca
Mitu tomentosum compared with Ortalis poliocephala
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Crestless Curassow | West Mexican Chachalaca |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Mitu tomentosum | Ortalis poliocephala |
| Order | Galliformes | Galliformes |
| Family | Cracidae | Cracidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 72.9 cm (28.7 in) | 52.0 cm (20.5 in) |
| Weight | 2268.75 g (80.03 oz) | 760.0 g (26.81 oz) |
| Diet | Eats fruits, seeds, and invertebrates in Amazonian lowland forests of Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil. Forages … | Frugivorous; eats fruits, berries, seeds, and leaves in West Mexican scrub and forest edges. Also … |
| Clutch Size | 2 | 2-3 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Song & Call Comparison
Crestless Curassow
Emits a deep, resonant booming call; male's voice is extraordinarily loud. The deep, far-carrying booms of displaying males echo through Amazonian and Orinoco forest at dawn.
West Mexican Chachalaca
Emits a loud, raucous chachalaca chorus; individual calls are slightly lower than Plain Chachalaca. Dawn choruses boom across Mexico's Pacific slope thornscrub and tropical dry forest.
Geographic Range & Migration
Crestless Curassow
Resident in the Orinoco and Amazon Basins of Venezuela, Colombia, and northern Brazil. Found in lowland rainforest and forest edges.
West Mexican Chachalaca
Endemic to the Pacific coast of Mexico from Sonora south to Jalisco. Found in tropical dry forest and thorn scrub.
Conservation Status
Crestless Curassow
West Mexican Chachalaca
How to Tell Them Apart
Crestless Curassow
Glossy black above and on breast; lower belly and undertail coverts white; bill large and bright red; no crest. White belly and red bill against black plumage create strong contrast.
West Mexican Chachalaca
Olive-brown above with greyish head; bare reddish throat skin; underparts pale grey with buff-olive flanks; tail long and dark brown with white tips on outer feathers. Overall paler than eastern …
About These Birds
Crestless Curassow
A large cracid (~2.3 kg) of family Cracidae, with black plumage, white-tipped tail, and a red bill without a prominent crest. Inhabits lowland humid forests in the Orinoco and northern Amazon basins of Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil. Forages on the forest floor and in the canopy for fruits and seeds. Least Concern with stable populations in remote forests.
West Mexican Chachalaca
A large chachalaca (~760 g) of family Cracidae, with a grey head and brownish body. Endemic to Mexico, inhabiting tropical dry and semi-deciduous forests of the Pacific coast from Jalisco to Oaxaca. Forages in groups for fruits, leaves, and seeds in forest canopy and understory. Least Concern; well adapted to secondary growth and forest edges throughout its restricted Mexican range.