White-bellied Chachalaca

Ortalis leucogastra

Please send me photos and information on this species so that I can build up a more detailed database.

The White-bellied Chachalaca is sometimes considered conspecific with Plain Chachalaca Ortalis vetula, though most authors consider it to be a separate species. It should not be confused with Ortalis araucuan from South America, which is also known as the White-bellied Chachalaca.

The species is easily located by its loud morning vocalisations. The birds can often be seen calling from the tops of trees. However, they can be wary and difficult to approach closely. They are found in a variety of habitats. I have heard them in the mangroves at Monterrico, I have seen them deep in the dry tropical forest at Walter Deininger Sanctuary and El Imposible, in various coffee plantations and farmland areas and in scrubby deciduous areas within the pine forests at San Ignacio in northern El Salvador.

Howell and Webb show the species as being present along the Pacific slope from western Chiapas to western Nicaragua, mostly in the lowland coastal areas. However, I have found White-bellied Chachalacas in the far north of El Salvador, right beside the border with Honduras at both San Ignacio and Perquin. It is likely that the species is found on the Honduran side of the frontier at these points at least.

Dickey and van Rossem examined the stomach contents of dead birds and discussed the diet – “Berries and fruit, either green or ripe, but preferably coyal palm dates when these are available. Leaves or pods are apparently seldom eaten and berries or small fruit, of which there is a year-round supply of one sort or another, seem to constitute practically the whole diet.”

Nesting
Howell and Webb do not mention anything about the nesting of this species, though I have heard of several nests that have been discovered. I was shown a nest that was discovered by my helper Jose Osmin near his house just south of Perkin. He found the nest on 17th May and it contained three eggs. He saw the bird flush from the nest and was able to give a clear description of the species, which is well known to the farmers throughout the country. On the 22nd May he returned, again flushing the adult, and there were two small chicks. I visited the following day, on the 23rd May, and the nest was empty, with a single unhatched egg left behind (which I collected and gave to SalvaNatura).

The nest was in an area of tangled second growth about 5m from a dirt road and about 30m from a farmhouse. The nest was not at all what I would have imagined for a species of this size. It was in the fork of a small bush, surrounded by tangled vines 146cm from the ground, on a slight slope, so that it could easily be looked into by anyone on the slope above it. It was a very loose flimsy structure, with all kinds of twigs of different species; some with tiny flowers on, some small ferns, a real mixed bag of little twigs with lots of tiny side branches on many of them. It was lined with big leaves that were the same species as the bush. The nest was oval shaped, measuring 23cm by 18cm. It was 13cm from top to bottom and had a shallow depression in the middle that was about 4cm deep.

The remains of two eggs were found in the nest, along with a single, unhatched egg, which was about chicken sized, though a bit longer and thinner. There was a pile of excrement on top of the eggs, presumably from the chicks or adult just before they left the nest. It was a purple colour and filled with small seeds, with the consistency of raspberry jam. The eggs were cream coloured, but stained with yellow brown. It appeared as it the staining had occurred after they were laid, rather than being actual markings (in their introduction to the Cracidae, Howell and Webb mention that many eggs are soiled by plant juices in the nest). There was also some purple staining, which was clearly caused by the purple excrement that had been left in the nest. The unhatched egg was 58.5mm in length and 39.4mm in width at the widest point; it weighed 45g (measured at the time that I found it). Apparently it is common for Cracids to leave the nest at a very early stage.

Dickey and van Rossem report a female that was laying, which was collected on April 15th 1927. They also report on a nest that they found at Guija lake on May 28th 1927, containing three white eggs that were on the point of hatching. The nest was “thirty feet from the ground in a tall, slim sapling which rose above the surrounding brush” – ie, in a very different locality to the one I described previously. Dickey and van Rossem also report on nests found by Salvin and Goodman (1903) in March which had fresh eggs and newly hatched young. Apparently, they stated that two eggs is the ordinary number.

Dickey and van Rossem describe a complete annual moult that takes place between August and December, varying between individuals.

The bird is common in disturbed areas. Dickey and van Rossem comment on the fact that the White-bellied Chachalacas did not leave an area despite considerable shooting. They comment that “altogether it is apparent that chachas are entirely capable of taking care of themselves and will doubtless survive for many years after Crax and Penelope have become extinct locally.” Seventy years later we can say that their prediction was correct. There seems to be little conservation concern for this species.

The webpage of the Cracid Specialist Group has a photo of this species www.angelfire.com/ca6/cracid
The Guatemalan Birding Resource Centre has some photos of this species www.xelapages.com/gbrc
This trip report from Mexico includes a photo www.seepub.com
Biblioteca de Sonidos Aves de Mexico has recordings of this species www.ecologia.edu

Known locations

El Salvador
I have seen them at Colima, Nancuchiname, Walter Deininger, El Imposible, Finca Giralda, Entrepinos in San Ignacio (near El Pital) and South of Perquin

Guatemala
I have seen them at Monterrico, El palmar Viejo and Tarrales.

Honduras
I have seen them at Coyolito.

Salvin and Goodman (1903) Biol. Centr.-Am., Aves, 3, p. 281.