Species

Plain chachalaca

Ortalis vetula

A long-tailed, brown game bird of Mexican thickets whose loud dawn chorus has echoed on Sapelo Island for a century.

Photo Dan Vickers (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

Communication

At a glance

Size: About 48 to 58 cm long, much of it tail
Weight: About 440 to 800 g
Habitat: Dense woodland and thickets
Diet: Leaves, buds, flowers, fruit and seeds, mostly taken in trees
In Georgia: Introduced; a small population lives on Sapelo Island and nearby islands
Voice: A loud, raucous "cha-cha-LAK", given in chorus at dawn
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Slender, olive-brown body; long, rounded tail tipped pale; small head; bare red skin on the throat in breeding season
Told apart from: Wild turkey, which is far larger and bulkier
Told apart from: Brown thrasher and cuckoos, which are much smaller
Where to look: Maritime forest on Sapelo Island, usually heard before it is seen

Behaviour

Chachalacas live in noisy groups that move through the treetops, clambering along branches to eat leaves and fruit. At dawn, groups call back and forth in a deafening chorus that gives the bird its name.

Why they matter

The plain chachalaca's natural range runs from southern Texas through eastern Mexico. It was brought to Sapelo Island in the 1920s and has survived there ever since, making it one of the few introduced birds in Georgia that is not a city bird. It eats fruit and spreads seeds through the island's woods, as it does in its native thickets.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A flimsy platform of sticks in a shrub or tree
Eggs — Usually three
Incubation — About 25 days
Chicks — Leave the nest within hours and can climb and flutter within days
Lifespan — Several years

Living around people

Chachalacas on Sapelo live mostly in woodland and keep out of sight; their calls are the usual sign of them.
Free-roaming cats and dogs take ground-feeding birds and chicks.

Misconceptions

They are escaped chickens or pheasants. They are wild chachalacas, descended from birds introduced a century ago.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Groups calling at dawn	Groups feeding on buds	Pairs forming	Nesting begins	Nesting	Chicks leaving the nest	Family groups	Family groups	Groups feeding on fruit	Groups	Groups	Groups calling at dawn

Where it lives

Recorded in 15 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

United States

Mexico

If you found one

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