| Chachalaca | |
|---|---|
_(8629080871).jpg) | |
| Rufous-vented chachalaca,Ortalis ruficauda | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Cracidae |
| Subfamily: | Cracinae |
| Genus: | Ortalis Merrem, 1786 |
| Type species | |
| Phasianus motmot Linnaeus, 1766 | |
| Species | |
16, see text. | |
Chachalacas aregalliform birds from the genusOrtalis. These birds are found in wooded habitats in the far southernUnited States (Texas),[1][2]Mexico, andCentral andSouth America. They are social, can be very noisy and often remain fairly common even near humans, as their relatively small size makes them less desirable to hunters than their larger relatives. As agricultural pests, they have a ravenous appetite for tomatoes, melons, beans, and radishes and can ravage a small garden in short order. They travel in packs of six to twelve.[3] Their nests are made of sticks, twigs, leaves, or moss and are generally frail, flat structures only a few feet above the ground. During April, they lay from three to five buffy white eggs, the shell of which is very rough and hard.[4] They somewhat resemble theguans, and the two have commonly been placed in asubfamily together, though the chachalacas are probably closer to thecurassows.[5]
The genusOrtalis was introduced (asOrtalida) by the German naturalistBlasius Merrem in 1786 with thelittle chachalaca (Ortalis motmot) as thetype species.[6][7] The generic name is derived from theAncient Greek word όρταλις, meaning "pullet"[8] or "domestic hen."[9] The common name derives from theNahuatl verbchachalaca, meaning "to chatter." With a glottal stop at the end,chachalacah was an alternate name for the bird known as thechachalahtli. All these words likely arose as an onomatopoeia for the four-noted cackle of theplain chachalaca (O. vetula).[10] The genus contains 16 species.[11]
Mitochondrial andnuclear DNAsequence data tentatively suggest that the chachalacas emerged as a distinct lineage during theOligocene, somewhere around 40–20mya, possibly being the first lineage of modern cracids to evolve; this does agree with the known fossil record – including indeterminate, cracid-like birds – which very cautiously favors a north-to-south expansion of thefamily.[5]
| Image | Common Name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
_national_butterfly_center%2c_missin%2c_hidalgo_co%2c_tx_-03_(31012955630).jpg) | Plain chachalaca | Ortalis vetula | Southern Texas, Mexico, the Yucatán Peninsula, Belize, northern Guatemala, northern Honduras and just into the north central part of Nicaragua |
.jpg) | Grey-headed chachalaca | Ortalis cinereiceps | eastern Honduras to northwestern Colombia (from South Chocó to the upper Atrato) |
 | Chestnut-winged chachalaca | Ortalis garrula | Colombia |
 | Rufous-vented chachalaca | Ortalis ruficauda | northeast Colombia and Venezuela, Tobago, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada |
 | Rufous-headed chachalaca | Ortalis erythroptera | Colombia and adjacent Ecuador and Peru |
_(cropped).jpg) | Rufous-bellied chachalaca | Ortalis wagleri | Mexico |
.jpg) | West Mexican chachalaca | Ortalis poliocephala | Mexico, from Jalisco to Oaxaca |
.jpg) | Chaco chachalaca | Ortalis canicollis | Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay |
 | White-bellied chachalaca | Ortalis leucogastra | Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua |
 | Colombian chachalaca | Ortalis columbiana | Colombia. |
.jpg) | Speckled chachalaca | Ortalis guttata | western Amazon Basin |
_araucuan_(2818916890).jpg) | East Brazilian chachalaca | Ortalis araucuan | Atlantic forests in eastern Brazil |
 | Scaled chachalaca | Ortalis squamata | southeastern Brazil |
 | Little chachalaca | Ortalis motmot | northern Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana and Venezuela |
 | Chestnut-headed chachalaca | Ortalis ruficeps | north central Brazil |
_-_Buff-browed_Chachalaca%3b_Rio_Mearim%2c_Arari%2c_Maranh%25C3%25A3o%2c_Brazil.jpg) | Buff-browed chachalaca | Ortalis superciliaris | Brazil |
The cracids have a very poorfossil record, essentially being limited to a few chachalacas. The prehistoric species of the present genus, however, indicate that chachalacas most likelyevolved inNorth or northernCentral America:
The Early Miocene fossilBoreortalis fromFlorida is also a chachalaca; it may actually be referrable to the extant genus.
Data related toOrtalis at WikispeciesGenera oflandfowl and their extinct allies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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