Chaco Chachalaca vs Band-tailed Guan
Ortalis canicollis compared with Penelope argyrotis
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Chaco Chachalaca | Band-tailed Guan |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Ortalis canicollis | Penelope argyrotis |
| Order | Galliformes | Galliformes |
| Family | Cracidae | Cracidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 47.1 cm (18.5 in) | 52.8 cm (20.8 in) |
| Weight | 578.5 g (20.41 oz) | 798.0 g (28.15 oz) |
| Diet | Eats fruits, berries, seeds, and leaves in Chaco scrubland and forest edges of Argentina, Bolivia, … | Frugivorous; eats fruits, berries, leaves, flowers, and buds in Andean forests of Venezuela and Colombia. … |
| Clutch Size | 2-4 | -- |
| 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.
Band-tailed Guan
Produces a loud, honking cackle and resonant wing-whirring in display flights. The deep, carrying honk and wing-whirr display is characteristic of this Andean Penelope guan.
Geographic Range & Migration
Chaco Chachalaca
Resident in the Chaco of Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern Argentina. Found in dry forest, thornbush, and gallery forest.
Band-tailed Guan
Resident in the Andes and mountains of Colombia and Venezuela from 1,000-2,400 m. Found in humid montane forest.
Conservation Status
Chaco Chachalaca
Band-tailed Guan
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.
Band-tailed Guan
Brownish-black above with fine white streaking on neck and chest; bare red facial skin; lower underparts chestnut; tail broad with distinctive pale grey subterminal band.
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.
Band-tailed Guan
A medium-sized cracid (~800 g) of family Cracidae, with a distinctive pale-tipped tail band. Inhabits montane humid forests in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and Andes of Colombia and Venezuela. Arboreal, feeding on fruits, seeds, and buds in the canopy. Least Concern; restricted to Andean cloud forest but common within its range and tolerates some forest disturbance.