Rufous-headed Chachalaca vs Buff-browed Chachalaca
Ortalis erythroptera compared with Ortalis superciliaris
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Rufous-headed Chachalaca | Buff-browed Chachalaca |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Ortalis erythroptera | Ortalis superciliaris |
| Order | Galliformes | Galliformes |
| Family | Cracidae | Cracidae |
| Conservation Status | Vulnerable | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 43.8 cm (17.2 in) | 35.1 cm (13.8 in) |
| Weight | 632.5 g (22.31 oz) | 549.3 g (19.38 oz) |
| Diet | Frugivorous; eats fruits, berries, seeds, and leaves in Pacific slope forests and forest edges of … | Eats fruits, berries, seeds, and leaves in eastern Amazonian and Cerrado forest edges. Diet poorly … |
| Clutch Size | 3 | 2-3 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Song & Call Comparison
Rufous-headed Chachalaca
Emits a loud, raucous chachalaca chorus; individual calls are slightly higher than Rufous-vented. Dawn choruses carry across Ecuadorian and Peruvian coastal dry forest.
Buff-browed Chachalaca
Produces a loud, raucous chachalaca chorus with individual calls slightly higher than Colombian Chachalaca. Dawn choruses carry across eastern Amazonian forest.
Geographic Range & Migration
Rufous-headed Chachalaca
Resident in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. Found in tropical deciduous forest and scrub in the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena region.
Buff-browed Chachalaca
Resident in central and eastern Brazil from Mato Grosso to Pará and Maranhão. Found in cerrado and forest edges.
Conservation Status
Rufous-headed Chachalaca
Buff-browed Chachalaca
How to Tell Them Apart
Rufous-headed Chachalaca
Brownish-olive body; head and upper neck warm rufous-cinnamon, distinctly contrasting with greyish-brown back; bare reddish throat wattle; underparts pale buff; tail dark with pale outer tips.
Buff-browed Chachalaca
Olive-brown overall; distinctive buff-white supercilium above reddish bare facial skin; throat skin pink; underparts pale buff-grey; tail dark with pale outer-feather tips.
About These Birds
Rufous-headed Chachalaca
A medium-sized cracid (~630 g) of family Cracidae, with a striking rufous head. Inhabits humid and deciduous forests, forest edges, and scrub in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. Feeds on fruits and leaves in the forest understory and canopy. Vulnerable due to extensive deforestation in the Tumbesian region, one of the world's most threatened biodiversity hotspots.
Buff-browed Chachalaca
A medium-sized cracid (~550 g) of family Cracidae, with a pale buff supercilium above the eye. Found in lowland and foothill forests and scrublands of eastern and southeastern Brazil. Forages in small social groups on fruits, seeds, and leaves. Least Concern; closely related to other eastern Brazilian chachalacas and classified as Least Concern with a broadly stable population.