Plain Chachalaca

Ortalis vetula (Wagler, 1830)

48–58 cmLength563 gWeight

The plain chachalaca (Ortalis vetula) is a large bird in the chachalaca, guan and curassow family Cracidae.

Busiest months: January–April and November · Most records: United States, Belize, Mexico

Least Concern

Where and when it's recorded

Plain Chachalaca has been recorded at 164 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 7 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Estero Llano Grande SP WBCUnited States21,699 records
Bentsen-Rio Grande Val. SP WBC (Mission)United States15,937 records
Santa Ana NWRUnited States10,570 records

More places

Quinta Mazatlan WBCUnited States8,094 records
Frontera Audubon CenterUnited States7,460 records
Hugh Ramsey Park (Harlingen Arroyo Colorado) WBCUnited States5,231 records
National Butterfly Center – General & area North of LeveeUnited States5,178 records
Resaca de la Palma SP WBC (Brownsville)United States5,007 records
Edinburg Scenic Wetlands WBCUnited States4,720 records
Salineño Wildlife PreserveUnited States4,418 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United States Belize Mexico Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Costa Rica

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 plain chachalaca (Ortalis vetula) is a large bird in the chachalaca, guan and curassow family Cracidae. It breeds in tropical and subtropical environments from mezquital thickets in the Rio Grande Valley in southernmost Texas, United States to northernmost Costa Rica. In Central America, this species occurs in the Pacific lowlands from Chiapas, Mexico to northern Nicaragua and as a separate population in Costa Rica, where its range is separated by a short distance, as a disjunct population.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Plain Chachalaca?

The Plain Chachalaca is about 48–58 cm long and weighs around 563 g.

Where does the Plain Chachalaca live?

Its breeding range: North America, Middle America: southern Texas to northwestern Costa Rica. It is most often recorded in United States, Belize and Mexico.