The buff-browed chachalaca is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is endemic to Brazil.
Region
Eastern Amazonia
Typical Environment
Endemic to Brazil, this species occupies lowland forests and ecotones in eastern Amazonia. It favors forest edges, riverine woodland, secondary growth, and scrubby thickets near watercourses. It readily uses disturbed habitats and forest fragments, often near human settlements where fruiting trees are available. Groups move between canopy and midstory, descending to feed in clearings and on river islands.
Altitude Range
0–700 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
Buff-browed chachalacas are noisy, group-living gamebirds whose dawn choruses carry far through the forest. They are important seed dispersers, swallowing fruits whole and moving seeds across fragmented habitats. Although adaptable to edges and secondary growth, they are susceptible to hunting and ongoing habitat loss.
Temperament
social and wary
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats followed by glides
Social Behavior
Typically seen in small family parties or loose groups that move together while foraging. Pairs maintain contact with loud antiphonal calls and may nest in low to mid-level trees, building a shallow platform of sticks. Clutches are small, and both parents help guard the nest.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A loud, raucous chorus of chattering notes often rendered as cha-cha-lac-a, delivered in energetic duets at dawn and dusk. Calls include harsh cackles and clucks used for contact and alarm. Vocalizations carry over long distances and are a key field cue.
Plumage
Overall warm brown to olive-brown with a paler, slightly grayish head and neck; long graduated tail with a subtle greenish gloss and rufous-tinged undertail. Feathers can show faint scaling on the breast in good light. The face is relatively bare with a distinct buff supercilium.
Diet
Primarily fruits and berries from a variety of native trees and shrubs, complemented by leaves, buds, and flowers. It also takes seeds and occasionally small invertebrates, especially when fruit is scarce. By ingesting whole fruits, it disperses seeds widely and aids forest regeneration.
Preferred Environment
Forages along forest edges, river margins, and in secondary growth where fruiting plants are abundant. Often visits canopy-level fruiting trees but will descend to feed in clearings, along trails, and on river islands.
