The grey-headed chachalaca (''Ortalis cinereiceps'') is a member of an ancient group of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s of the family

Cracidae 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 Unite ...

, which includes chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found from Honduras to Colombia.Winkler, D. W., S. M. Billerman, and I.J. Lovette (2020). Guans, Chachalacas, and Curassows (Cracidae), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.cracid2.01 retrieved September 28, 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

The family Cracidae is closely related to the

guineafowl Guineafowl (; sometimes called "pet speckled hens" or "original fowl") are birds of the family Numididae in the order Galliformes. They are endemic to Africa and rank among the oldest of the gallinaceous birds. Phylogenetically, they branched ...

(Numididae), the pheasants, grouse and allies ( Phasianidae), and the

New World quail The New World quail are small birds only distantly related to the Old World quail, but named for their similar appearance and habits. The American species are in their own family, the Odontophoridae, whereas Old World quail are in the pheasant ...

(Odontophoridae). The grey-headed chachalaca was at one time treated as

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organis ...

with the chestnut-winged chachalaca (''Ortalis garrula'').Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 August 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved August 24, 2021del Hoyo, J. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Gray-headed Chachalaca (''Ortalis cinereiceps''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.grhcha1.01 retrieved September 28, 2021 It is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

; several subspecies have been proposed and not accepted. Gray-headed Chachalaca

Description

The grey-headed chachalaca is a medium-sized bird, similar in general appearance to

turkeys The turkey is a large bird in the genus ''Meleagris'', native to North America. There are two extant turkey species: the wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') of eastern and central North America and the ocellated turkey (''Meleagris ocellat ...

, with a small head, long strong legs, and a long broad tail. They are long and weigh . They have fairly dull plumage, grayish brown above and paler below. The head is dark grey with a red

dewlap A dewlap is a longitudinal flap of skin or similar flesh that hangs beneath the lower jaw or neck of many vertebrates. More loosely, it can be various similar structures in the neck area, such as those caused by a double chin or the submandibul ...

and the blackish tail is tipped with buff. Their primary flight feathers are bright chestnut. Juveniles are browner overall, especially on the head.

Distribution and habitat

The grey-headed chachalaca is found from

Mosquitia La Mosquitia is the easternmost part of Honduras along the Mosquito Coast, which extends into northeastern Nicaragua. It is a region of tropical rainforest, pine savannah, and marsh that is accessible primarily by water and air. Its population inc ...

in eastern Honduras through eastern

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

and most of Costa Rica and

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

into Colombia's

Chocó Department Choco Department is a department of Western Colombia known for its large Afro-Colombian population. It is in the west of the country, and is the only Colombian department to have coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. It ...

. In addition to mainland Panama it occurs on Isla del Rey, where it might have been introduced by native Americans. It inhabits a variety of humid landscapes characterized by dense vegetation such as thickets, secondary forest, brushy abandoned fields, and thinned forests. It shuns the interior of dense forest though it can occur in their edges. In elevation it ranges from sea level to .

Behavior

Feeding

The grey-headed chachalaca forages typically in groups of six to 12 but sometimes up to 20, usually in the vegetation but sometimes on the ground. Its diet is about 75% fruit, 17% leaves, and 8% invertebrates. In the dry season it visits rivers to drink in the morning and evening.

Breeding

The grey-headed chachalaca's egg-laying season spans at least January to May, which overlaps the rainy season. Its broad shallow nest is built of twigs, vines, and other vegetation and placed above ground in a tree or bush and often screened by vines. The female lays three dull white

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

and incubates them alone.

Vocalization

The grey-headed chachalaca is less noisy than

plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

(''O. vetula'') or

rufous-vented chachalaca 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 ...

s (''O. ruficauda''). Its song is a soft "cha-cha-lac-ah". Flocks give raucous calls described as "kloik, kleeuk kraahk". It also makes a variety of screams, sharp alarm calls, and a quiet purr.

Status

The IUCN has assessed the grey-headed chachalaca as being of Least Concern. It varies from fairly common to common throughout its range though in some areas the population has been significantly reduced by hunting. It adapts well to some habitat disturbance.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1267644

grey-headed chachalaca The grey-headed chachalaca (''Ortalis cinereiceps'') 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.Winkler, D. W., S. M. Billerman, and ...

Birds of Nicaragua Birds of Costa Rica Birds of Panama