Chaco Chachalaca

About the Chaco Chachalaca

The Chaco chachalaca (Ortalis canicollis) is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and possibly Uruguay. The Chaco chachalaca has two recognized subspecies, the nominate Ortalis canicollis canicollis (Wagler, 1830) and O. c. pantanalensis (Cherrie and Reichenberger, 1921). The latter might actually be a subspecies of plain chachalaca (O. vetula) or a species in its own right. The Paraguayan population has been treated as a separate subspecies but that status has not been generally accepted.

The Chaco chachalaca is 50 to 56 cm (1.6 to 1.8 ft) long and weighs 479 to 678 g (1.1 to 1.5 lb). The nominate subspecies' head, back, and breast are gray and the belly tan to brown. It has bare pinkish red skin around the eye. O. c. pantanalensis is browner and the facial skin is more purplish than pinkish.

The nominate subspecies of Chaco chachalaca is found in the Gran Chaco of eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, and northern Argentina. O. c. pantanalensis is found in southwestern Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul of Brazil... Wikipedia →