The rufous-bellied chachalaca (''Ortalis wagleri'') is a species 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 lightweigh ...

in 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 ...

, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is endemic to western

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The rufous-bellied chachalaca was at one time considered a subspecies of the West Mexican chachalaca (''Ortalis poliocephala''). 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 "unispec ...

, though the Sonoran population has been treated as a subspecies.del Hoyo, J. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Rufous-bellied Chachalaca (''Ortalis wagleri''), 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.rubcha1.01 retrieved September 28, 2021

Description

The rufous-bellied chachalaca is long and weighs about . Most of its plumage is gray brown to olive brown, but its chestnut belly and tail tips make it the most richly colored member of its genus. It has bare pink and blue skin around the eye.

Distribution and habitat

The rufous-bellied chachalaca is found in western Mexico from southern

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

south to northwestern

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

. It inhabits tropical deciduous, semi-deciduous, and thorn forest and, along the coast, mangroves. In elevation it usually ranges from sea level to but has been found as high as .

Behavior

Feeding

The rufous-bellied chachalaca forages in groups of up to 10, gleaning fruit from trees.

Breeding

Little is known about the rufous-bellied chachalaca's breeding

phenology Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonality, seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as environmental factor, habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples includ ...

. Its breeding season appears to center around June. The clutch size is usually three eggs.

Vocalization

The rufous-bellied chachalaca's principal vocalization is a " loud, rhythmic, 4–5-syllable, chorus 'kirr-i-i-kr', 'chrr-i-k-rr' or 'chrr-uh-uh-rr' to which is sometimes added "loud cackling, whistling, or growling notes."

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed the rufous-bellied chachalaca as being of Least Concern. It is fairly common to common, even in habitats severely altered by humans, and is legally hunted.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1267347 rufous-bellied chachalaca Endemic birds of Western Mexico rufous-bellied chachalaca rufous-bellied chachalaca Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Birds of the Sierra Madre Occidental Sinaloan dry forests Jalisco dry forests