The East Brazilian chachalaca (Ortalis araucuan) is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is endemic to eastern Brazil.[2]
The East Brazilian chachalaca is about 50 cm (1.6 ft) long. It has a dull rufous crown and nape, brown upperparts, and a reddish rump. Its gular patch is red. The lower throat and breast are dark brownish with whitish (female) or buffy (male) spots; the rest of the underparts are white except for the ochre vent. Its dark brown eye is surrounded by bare slate blue skin.[4]
Very little is known about the East Brazilian chachalaca's breeding phenology. One nest was a shallow bowl made of twigs and leaves, but unlined, and sited in dense foliage about 3.2 m (10 ft) up in a tree. It contained three eggs.[4]
The East Brazilian chachalaca's song is "a repeated 're-a-tok'" that is easily distinguished from the five-syllable song of the speckled chachalaca.[4]
The IUCN has assessed the East Brazilian chachalaca as being of Least Concern.[1] Though its population has not been quantified, the species is generally considered common and the number stable. It appears to tolerate human activity and human-altered habitat but does face some pressure from habitat destruction and hunting.[4]
^Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 August 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved August 24, 2021
^ abcdefgdel Hoyo, J., N. Collar, D. A. Christie, and G. M. Kirwan (2020). East Brazilian Chachalaca (Ortalis araucuan), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.specha2.01 retrieved September 30, 2021
