Rufous-vented Chachalaca (Ortalis ruficauda)
About the Rufous-vented Chachalaca
The rufous-vented chachalaca (Ortalis ruficauda) is a member of an ancient group of birds of the family Cracidae, which are related to the Australasian mound builders. It inhabits northeast Colombia and northern Venezuela where it is called guacharaca, and the island of Tobago in Trinidad and Tobago where it is known as the cocrico and is one of the country's two national birds (being featured on the country's coat of arms). It is also found on Bequia and Union Island in the Grenadines where it may have been introduced. The rufous-vented chachalaca is a largely arboreal species found in forest and woodland, but it is also found in more open dry scrubby areas. This combined with relatively low hunting pressure, make it far less vulnerable than larger members of the family, notably curassows.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 58 recordings for this species: 20 CC BY-NC-SA · 8 CC BY-NC-ND. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in Colombia, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Related species you can hear
- Colombian ChachalacaOrtalis columbianarecording
- Grey-headed ChachalacaOrtalis cinereicepsrecording
- Rufous-headed ChachalacaOrtalis erythropterarecording
- Speckled ChachalacaOrtalis guttatarecording
This species has no recording here yet — these relatives do, so you can hear what the family sounds like.