The West Mexican chachalaca (''Ortalis poliocephala'') 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 Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

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 West Mexican chachalaca was first described as ''Penelope poliocephala'' and later moved to genus ''Ortalis''. At one time it was considered a subspecies of plain chachalaca (''Ortalis vetula''). After being reinstated as a species, some authors included what is now the

rufous-bellied chachalaca The rufous-bellied chachalaca (''Ortalis wagleri'') is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is endemic to western Mexico. Taxonomy and systematics The rufous-bellied chachalaca was at one time co ...

(''O. wagleri'') as a subspecies.Rodríguez-Flores, C. I. and M. d. C. Arizmendi (2020). West Mexican Chachalaca (''Ortalis poliocephala''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.wemcha1.01 retrieved September 29, 2021 In its current status, the West Mexican chachalaca 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 ...

Description

The West Mexican chachalaca is long. One male weighed . 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.

Distribution and habitat

The West Mexican chachalaca is found in a swath of southwestern Mexico between northern

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 ...

and southwestern

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

and inland as far as southwestern

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

. It primarily inhabits mature deciduous forest, thorn scrub, and

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

. Locally it inhabits pine-oak forest and sometimes is found in mangroves and palm plantations. In elevation it ranges from sea level to .

Behavior

Feeding

The West Mexican chachalaca forages mostly on the ground but will also ascend into vegetation. About two thirds of its diet is fruit, with flowers, seeds, leaves, and insects making up the rest.

Breeding

The West Mexican chachalaca's breeding season spans from April to August with a June-July peak. The nest is constructed by both sexes; it is a shallow platform of sticks lined with leaves and bromeliads sited up to above the ground. One described clutch was three eggs. The female alone incubates eggs but both sexes care for the young.

Vocalization

The West Mexican chachalaca's principal vocalization is "a group of 'gruff, throaty, rhythmic chattering, chur-uh-uh-uhr, etc'."

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 West Mexican chachalaca as being of Least Concern. It is deemed fairly common to common throughout its range. It is commonly hunted for food but apparently not to excess.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1266113 West Mexican chachalaca Birds of Mexico Endemic birds of Mexico Birds of the Sierra Madre del Sur Birds of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt West Mexican chachalaca Taxa named by Johann Georg Wagler Taxonomy articles created by Polbot