West Mexican Chachalaca vs Crested Guan
Ortalis poliocephala compared with Penelope purpurascens
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | West Mexican Chachalaca | Crested Guan |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Ortalis poliocephala | Penelope purpurascens |
| Order | Galliformes | Galliformes |
| Family | Cracidae | Cracidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Near Threatened |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 52.0 cm (20.5 in) | 75.9 cm (29.9 in) |
| Weight | 760.0 g (26.81 oz) | 1939.5 g (68.41 oz) |
| Diet | Frugivorous; eats fruits, berries, seeds, and leaves in West Mexican scrub and forest edges. Also … | Eats fruits, berries, seeds, leaves, and flowers in Central and South American lowland and foothill … |
| Clutch Size | 2-3 | 2-3 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Song & Call Comparison
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.
Crested Guan
Emits a loud, resonant honking cackle and sustained wing-whirring display. The resonant honk carries through Central American and northern South American tropical forest canopy.
Geographic Range & Migration
West Mexican Chachalaca
Endemic to the Pacific coast of Mexico from Sonora south to Jalisco. Found in tropical dry forest and thorn scrub.
Crested Guan
Resident from Mexico and Central America south to western Ecuador and Venezuela at sea level to 2,400 m. Found in humid forest.
Conservation Status
West Mexican Chachalaca
Crested Guan
How to Tell Them Apart
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 …
Crested Guan
Dark brownish-black with purplish gloss; prominent erectile dark crest; bare red throat wattle; neck and breast finely streaked white; lower belly rufous-chestnut; tail long and dark.
About These Birds
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.
Crested Guan
A large cracid (~1.9 kg) of family Cracidae, with a shaggy crest, red wattle, and dark plumage with white streaking. Inhabits lowland and montane humid forests from Mexico to western Ecuador and Venezuela. Arboreal frugivore; also takes leaves and invertebrates. Near Threatened due to deforestation and hunting across Central America and South America.