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Birds of Zihuatanejo

CLASS AVES

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

-Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

-Birds (Class Aves)

-Landfowl (Order Galliformes)

-Guans, Chachalacas, and Curassows (Family Cracidae)

-Chachalacas (Genus Ortalis)

-West Mexican Chachalaca (Ortalis poliocephala)


The West-mexican Chachalaca is a very loud and vocal member of the Cracid family. They are found on the Pacific Slope of Western Mexico. It has a gruff, throaty, rhythmic chattering, usually performed by several animals at the same time. Mainle vegetarian, they will eat leaves, fruits, seeds and flowers in the tree canopy. If in the mood they will eat insects and maybe even a small reptile. Its crown and nape are dull brownish gray and the rest of the upperparts pale brownish olive. The tail is slightly grayer and the feathers have broad buff tips. The breast is grayish olive and the belly whitish with a buff wash. The hazel eye is surrounded by bare carmine skin.

West Mexican Chachalaca

Ortalis poliocephala

Diet

  • Primarily fruits, berries, seeds, young leaves, flowers, and buds.

  • Also feeds on insects and other small invertebrates, especially during the breeding season.

  • Forages mainly in trees and shrubs but will occasionally descend to the ground to feed.

Range

  • Endemic to western Mexico, occurring along the Pacific slope from southern Sonora through Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero, and western Oaxaca.

  • Common throughout the Zihuatanejo region, where it is a year-round resident.

  • Inhabits tropical dry forests, thorn forests, woodland edges, gallery forests, second-growth, plantations, and brushy hillsides, generally from sea level to about 2,000 m.

Male / Female

  • Male: Grey head, olive-brown upperparts, pale gray neck and breast, long greenish tail, and bright red bare throat patch (gular skin). Slightly larger than the female.

  • Female: Nearly identical in plumage but generally smaller and slightly less robust.

  • Sexes cannot be reliably distinguished in the field except by subtle size differences or behaviour during breeding.

Size

  • Length: 58–66 cm (23–26 in)

  • Wingspan: 60–70 cm (24–28 in)

  • Weight: 500–700 g (1.1–1.5 lb)

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