Plain Chachalacas Are Always Alert Stock Image

This is an Ortalis vetula bird species, Cracidae family. Common name: plain chachalaca. It breeds in tropical and subtropical environments. In Central America, this species occurs in the Pacific lowlands from Chiapas, Mexico to northern Nicaragua and as a separate population in Costa Rica. The plain chachalaca feeds in trees or on the ground on fruit, seeds, leaves, and flowers. The plain chachalaca is a medium-sized galliform, it is long-necked with a small head and bare throat patch which becomes deep red in both sexes during the breeding season. Observed at Cerro Cahuí Protected Biotope, Petén, northern Guatemala.