Chaco Chachalaca vs West Mexican Chachalaca
Ortalis canicollis compared with Ortalis poliocephala
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Chaco Chachalaca | West Mexican Chachalaca |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Ortalis canicollis | Ortalis poliocephala |
| Order | Galliformes | Galliformes |
| Family | Cracidae | Cracidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 47.1 cm (18.5 in) | 52.0 cm (20.5 in) |
| Weight | 578.5 g (20.41 oz) | 760.0 g (26.81 oz) |
| Diet | Eats fruits, berries, seeds, and leaves in Chaco scrubland and forest edges of Argentina, Bolivia, … | Frugivorous; eats fruits, berries, seeds, and leaves in West Mexican scrub and forest edges. Also … |
| Clutch Size | 2-4 | 2-3 |
| 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.
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
Chaco Chachalaca
Resident in the Chaco of Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern Argentina. Found in dry forest, thornbush, and gallery forest.
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
Chaco Chachalaca
West Mexican 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.
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
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.
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.