The grey-headed chachalaca is a member of an ancient group of birds in the family Cracidae, which includes chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found from Honduras to Colombia.
Region
Central America to northwestern South America
Typical Environment
Occurs from eastern Honduras through Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama into the Chocó region of northwestern Colombia. Inhabits humid lowland and foothill forests, edges, riverine thickets, and secondary growth, and readily uses plantations and orchards near forest. Most often seen in the midstory and canopy but will also forage in shrubs and occasionally on the ground. It favors disturbed habitats with abundant fruiting trees and dense cover for roosting.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This chachalaca is a member of the Cracidae, an ancient Neotropical family that includes guans and curassows. It is notably vocal, delivering loud dawn and dusk choruses that carry far through the forest. By eating fruits and passing seeds, it plays an important role in forest regeneration. It tolerates secondary growth and edges but can be affected by heavy hunting and habitat loss.
Gray-headed chachalacas displaying (Costa Rica)
At a feeder at the Arenal Observatory
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with gliding
Social Behavior
Typically travels in small groups or family parties of 4–12 birds. Roosts communally high in trees and forages together, keeping visual contact with frequent calls. Nests are shallow twig platforms placed in dense vegetation or trees; clutches are usually 2–3 eggs and both parents help guard the nest.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Loud, raucous choruses at dawn and dusk, often rendered as repeated cha-cha-lac phrases. Also gives harsh chatter, clucks, and cackles to maintain group cohesion.
Plumage
Olive-brown body with a distinctly gray head and neck, long brown tail with a pale tip, and whitish throat. Rufous tones are visible in the wings during flight. Feathers are plain rather than patterned, giving a uniform, slightly scaly look on the neck.
Diet
Feeds primarily on fruits and berries, including figs, palm fruits, and other soft fruits. Also takes young leaves, buds, and flowers, and occasionally consumes insects and other small invertebrates. By swallowing fruits whole, it disperses seeds over distance, aiding forest regeneration.
Preferred Environment
Forages in the canopy and midstory of forest edges, secondary growth, and river corridors. Frequently visits fruiting trees in gardens, orchards, and plantations adjoining forest.
