Chaco Chachalaca vs Grey-headed Chachalaca
Ortalis canicollis compared with Ortalis cinereiceps
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Chaco Chachalaca | Grey-headed Chachalaca |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Ortalis canicollis | Ortalis cinereiceps |
| Order | Galliformes | Galliformes |
| Family | Cracidae | Cracidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 47.1 cm (18.5 in) | 41.1 cm (16.2 in) |
| Weight | 578.5 g (20.41 oz) | 566.5 g (19.98 oz) |
| Diet | Eats fruits, berries, seeds, and leaves in Chaco scrubland and forest edges of Argentina, Bolivia, … | Frugivorous and folivorous; eats fruits, berries, leaves, and buds in Central American forest edges and … |
| Clutch Size | 2-4 | 3 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Song & Call Comparison
Chaco Chachalaca
Produces a loud, raucous cha-cha-lac chorus; calls are dry and slightly nasal. Dawn choruses echo across the Chaco scrubland; groups call insistently from prominent perches.
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
Chaco Chachalaca
Resident in the Chaco of Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern Argentina. Found in dry forest, thornbush, and gallery forest.
Grey-headed Chachalaca
Resident from Honduras south through Central America to Panama and northwestern Colombia. Found in humid forest and dense vegetation.
Conservation Status
Chaco Chachalaca
Grey-headed Chachalaca
How to Tell Them Apart
Chaco Chachalaca
Brownish-olive above; neck and head pale grey ('canicollis' = grey-necked); bare pink throat skin; underparts pale grey-white; tail dark brownish with white-tipped outer rectrices.
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
Chaco Chachalaca
A medium-sized cracid (~580 g) of family Cracidae, with grey neck and olive-brown plumage. Inhabits the dry woodlands, gallery forests, and thorn scrub of the Gran Chaco region across Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina. Feeds in social groups on fruits, leaves, and seeds. Least Concern; broadly distributed across the Chaco, tolerating degraded and secondary habitats.
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.