Bird Album
Little Chachalaca
Ortalis motmot (Linnaeus, 1766)
43–54 cmLength520 gWeight
The little chachalaca (Ortalis motmot) is a bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows.
Busiest months: January–February and November · Most records: Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela
Where and when it's recorded
Busiest months: January–February and November · Most records: Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela
Little Chachalaca has been recorded at 45 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 5 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Fair View- westGuyana128 records
- Surama EcoLodgeGuyana107 records
- Iwokrama River LodgeGuyana83 records
More places
- Fredberg – Zintete LodgeSuriname78 records
- Kabalebo Nature ResortSuriname62 records
- Mahaica River – BaiabuGuyana62 records
- Atta Lodge / Iwokrama Canopy WalkwayGuyana62 records
- RF de Imataca – Campamento Río GrandeVenezuela52 records
- Surama EcoLodge – Borro Borro TrailGuyana39 records
- Manaus – MUSA/Jardim Botânico A. DuckeBrazil35 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The little chachalaca (Ortalis motmot) is a bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela and possibly Colombia.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Little Chachalaca?
The Little Chachalaca is about 43–54 cm long and weighs around 520 g.
Where does the Little Chachalaca live?
Its breeding range: South America: northern Amazonia. It is most often recorded in Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela.
When is the best time to see the Little Chachalaca?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in January, February and November (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Little Chachalaca endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Little Chachalaca as Least Concern.
What does the Little Chachalaca eat?
Main food: Fruit.
What family is the Little Chachalaca in?
It belongs to the family Chachalacas, Curassows, Guans (Cracidae), order Galliformes.
At a glance
- Length
- 43–54 cm
- Weight
- 520 g
- Habitat
- Forest
- Diet
- Fruit
- Lifestyle
- Perches in trees
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 207 mm
- Tail
- 237 mm
- Bill
- 30 mm
- Tarsus
- 62 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
South America: northern Amazonia
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Chachalacas, Curassows, Guans Cracidae
- Genus
- Ortalis
Other birds in the genus Ortalis
Plain ChachalacaOrtalis vetula
Grey-headed ChachalacaOrtalis cinereiceps
Chestnut-winged ChachalacaOrtalis garrula
Rufous-vented ChachalacaOrtalis ruficauda
Rufous-headed ChachalacaOrtalis erythroptera
Rufous-bellied ChachalacaOrtalis wagleri
West Mexican ChachalacaOrtalis poliocephala
Chaco ChachalacaOrtalis canicollis
White-bellied ChachalacaOrtalis leucogastra
Speckled ChachalacaOrtalis guttata
East Brazilian ChachalacaOrtalis araucuan
Scaled ChachalacaOrtalis squamata
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Lucas Tavares. ↗
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