Rufous-vented chachalaca

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Rufous-vented chachalaca
Rufous-vented Chachalaca - Guacharaca del Norte (Ortalis ruficauda) (8629080871).jpg
In Venezuela
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Cracidae
Genus: Ortalis
Species:
O. ruficauda
Binomial name
Ortalis ruficauda
Jardine, 1847
Ortalis ruficauda map.svg

The rufous-vented chachalaca (Ortalis ruficauda) is a member of an ancient group of birds of the family Cracidae, which are related to the Australasian mound builders. It inhabits northeast Colombia and northern Venezuela where it is called guacharaca, and the island of Tobago in Trinidad and Tobago where it is known as the cocrico and is one of the country's two national birds (being featured on the country's coat of arms). It is also found on Bequia and Union Island in the Grenadines where it may have been introduced.

Contents

Habitat

The rufous-vented chachalaca is a largely arboreal species found in forest and woodland, but it is also found in more open dry scrubby areas. This combined with relatively low hunting pressure, make it far less vulnerable than larger members of the family, notably curassows.

Description

These are medium-sized birds, similar in general appearance to turkeys, with small heads, long strong legs and a long broad tail. They are typically 53–58 cm long; the female weighs 540g and the larger male 640g. They have fairly dull plumage, dark brown above and paler below. The head is grey, and the brown tail is tipped rufous or white depending on race.

Call

As other chachalacas, the rufous-vented chachalaca is a very noisy species, preferring to execute their vocal feats at dawn. The male's call is a loud low ka-ka-rooki-rooki-ka, answered by the female's high-pitched watch-a-lak, which they often repeat several times in a row, in precise synchronization.

Breeding and behaviour

The species is a social bird, often seen in family groups. It walks along branches seeking the fruit (such as mangoes, berries and those from the Euterpe palm), leaves [2] and seeds on which it feeds. It is an able flyer that can even take off and fly vertically, but does not usually fly long distances. The twig nest is built low in a tree, and three or four large white eggs are laid. The female incubates them alone.

Subspecies

There are two subspecies:

Related Research Articles

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The chachalacas, guans and curassows are birds in the family Cracidae. These are species of tropical and subtropical Central and South America. The range of one species, the plain chachalaca, just reaches southernmost parts of Texas in the United States. Two species, the Trinidad piping guan and the rufous-vented chachalaca occur on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago respectively.

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Rufous-breasted wren Species of bird

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Red-crowned woodpecker Species of bird

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Grey-headed chachalaca Species of bird

The grey-headed chachalaca is a member of an ancient group of birds of the family Cracidae, which includes chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found from Honduras to Colombia.

White-bearded manakin Species of bird

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Plain chachalaca Species of bird

The plain chachalaca is a large bird in the chachalaca, guan and curassow family Cracidae. It breeds in tropical and subtropical environments from mezquital thickets in the Rio Grande Valley in southernmost Texas, United States to northernmost Costa Rica. In Central America, this species occurs in the Pacific lowlands from Chiapas, Mexico to northern Nicaragua and as a separate population in Costa Rica, where its range is separated by a short distance, as a disjunct population.

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Rufous-headed chachalaca Species of bird

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Chestnut-winged chachalaca Species of bird

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Speckled chachalaca Species of bird

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West Mexican chachalaca Species of bird

The West Mexican chachalaca is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is endemic to Mexico.

Rufous-bellied chachalaca Species of bird

The rufous-bellied chachalaca is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is endemic to western Mexico.

Rufous-tailed flatbill Species of bird

The rufous-tailed flatbill is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

East Brazilian chachalaca Species of bird

The East Brazilian chachalaca is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is endemic to eastern Brazil.

Colombian chachalaca Species of bird

The Colombian chachalaca is a species of bird in the family Cracidae. It is endemic to the forests and woodlands in the inter-Andean valleys in Colombia. Colombian Chachalacas are frugivorous and lead an arboreal lifestyle. The large seeds they disperse through defecation support the maintenance of diverse tropical forests.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Ortalis ruficauda". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22678315A92767223. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22678315A92767223.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Ortalis_ruficauda%20-%20Rufous-vented%20Chachalaca%20or%20Cocrico.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]