Chaco Chachalaca

The Chaco chachalaca is 50–56cm long and weighs 479–678g (Wikipedia, general species account). The nominate form has a grey head, back and breast, a tan to brown belly, and bare pinkish-red skin around the eye. The Brazilian form O. c. pantanalensis is browner, with more purplish facial skin (Wikipedia). The species averages about 540g (AVONET, Tobias et al. 2022).

In forest it forages in small groups, usually of up to about 30 birds, feeding in tree crowns or on the ground where there is little undergrowth. In Argentina flocks of up to 150 have been seen feeding on farmland far from cover (Wikipedia, general species account). Its diet is mainly fruit and leaves, with caterpillars and other invertebrates added when they are seasonally common. Its main call is a harsh, raucous chatter given in early morning, and it has several other calls (Wikipedia). Breeding in Argentina runs from October to February and apparently can begin as early as August. The nest is a small loose platform of sticks and stems, often lined with leaves, placed 2.5–4m up in a dense bush or tree, and the female alone incubates the two to four eggs (Wikipedia). Very little is known about its breeding overall (Studer 2022). It is generally common, but in some areas it faces heavy hunting (Wikipedia, general species account).

Bolivia sits at the core of this species' range. Studer (2022) places it in the Chaco region of Bolivia, Paraguay and northern Argentina, and in Brazil on the Pantanal floodplain of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul. Wikipedia places the nominate form in the Gran Chaco of eastern Bolivia (Wikipedia, general species account).