Horned Guan vs West Mexican Chachalaca
Oreophasis derbianus compared with Ortalis poliocephala
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Horned Guan | West Mexican Chachalaca |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Oreophasis derbianus | Ortalis poliocephala |
| Order | Galliformes | Galliformes |
| Family | Cracidae | Cracidae |
| Conservation Status | Endangered | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 74.1 cm (29.2 in) | 52.0 cm (20.5 in) |
| Weight | 2072.8 g (73.12 oz) | 760.0 g (26.81 oz) |
| Diet | Frugivorous; eats fruits, especially bromeliads, leaves, and invertebrates in Mexican and Guatemalan cloud forests. Endangered. | 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
Horned Guan
Emits a deep, resonant booming call and loud wing-whirring display. The extraordinary, far-carrying boom is one of the most powerful calls in the cloud forest; wing-whirring is vigorous.
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
Horned Guan
Endemic to the volcanic highlands of Chiapas, Mexico, and adjacent Guatemala at 2,000-3,300 m. Found in cloud forest. Endangered.
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
Horned Guan
West Mexican Chachalaca
How to Tell Them Apart
Horned Guan
Black above with white streaking; white below with black streaking; extraordinary erect red horn on crown; bare red facial skin; white iris; legs red. The horn is unique among cracids.
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
Horned Guan
A large cracid (~2 kg) of family Cracidae, unique for a bright red bony horn projecting from the crown. Endemic to cloud forests above 2,000 m in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas of Mexico and adjacent Guatemala. Feeds on fruits and leaves in the forest canopy. Endangered; one of the world's most distinctive birds, threatened by cloud forest loss and hunting.
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.