CreatureData

Rufous-headed chachalaca

Ortalis erythroptera P. L. Sclater & Salvin, 1870

VUVulnerablebirds

The rufous-headed chachalaca (Ortalis erythroptera) is a species in the family Cracidae, order Galliformes. Recorded adults weigh 632 g to 632.2 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.

Rufous-headed chachalaca (Ortalis erythroptera)
Photo: Francesco Veronesi from Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the rufous-headed chachalaca

Weight
632 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Frugivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
3src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the rufous-headed chachalaca live?

Not recorded

What is the rufous-headed chachalaca?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The rufous-headed chachalaca (Ortalis erythroptera) is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

From the Wikipedia article “Rufous-headed chachalaca” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rufous-headed_chachalaca&oldid=1214083382), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the rufous-headed chachalaca endangered?

The rufous-headed chachalaca is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species. What the categories mean.

How is the rufous-headed chachalaca classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderGalliformes
  5. familyCracidae
  6. genusOrtalis
  7. SpeciesOrtalis erythroptera P. L. Sclater & Salvin, 1870

Synonyms Ortalida erythroptera

Other names and names in other languages (33)
  • Rufous headed chachalacaEnglish
  • شاشالاكا أصهب الرأسArabic
  • txatxalaca cap-roigCatalan
  • čačalaka rezavohlaváCzech
  • cacalaca pengochWelsh
  • Rusthovedet ChachalacaDanish
  • RotkopfguanGerman
  • rufkapa ĉaĉalakoEsperanto
  • Ruĝflugila ortaloEsperanto
  • Guacharaca coloradaSpanish
  • Chachalaca cabecirrufaSpanish
  • Chachalaca de Cabeza RufaSpanish
  • ekuadori tšatšalakaEstonian
  • perunkaklattajaFinnish
  • ecuadorinkaklattajaFinnish
  • Ortalide à tête rousseFrench
  • Ciacialaca testarossicciaItalian
  • ズアカヒメシャクケイJapanese
  • rausvagalvė čačalakaLithuanian
  • Atseentélí bítááʼ halchíʼíNavajo
  • RoodkopchachalacaDutch
  • rusthodehokkoNorwegian
  • czakalaka rudogłowaPolish
  • aracuã-de-cabeça-ruivaPortuguese
  • chachalaca-de-cabeça-ruivaPortuguese
  • Красноголовая чачалакаRussian
  • čačalaka ekvádorskáSlovak
  • Riđoglava čačalakaSerbian
  • rosthuvad chachalacaSwedish
  • Kızıl Başlı ÇaçalakaTurkish
  • чачалака рудоголоваUkrainian
  • 棕头小冠雉Chinese
  • 棕頭稚冠雉Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the rufous-headed chachalaca

Other species in the same genus Ortalis.

CompareRufous-headed chachalaca vs Plain chachalacaRufous-headed chachalaca vs Rufous-vented chachalacaRufous-headed chachalaca vs Chaco chachalacaRufous-headed chachalaca vs Speckled chachalaca

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the rufous-headed chachalaca?

An adult rufous-headed chachalaca weighs 632 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the rufous-headed chachalaca endangered?

The rufous-headed chachalaca is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the rufous-headed chachalaca?

The rufous-headed chachalaca (Ortalis erythroptera) belongs to the family Cracidae in the order Galliformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Rufous-headed chachalaca (Ortalis erythroptera). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/rufous-headed-chachalaca

MLA

“Rufous-headed chachalaca (Ortalis erythroptera).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/rufous-headed-chachalaca.

BibTeX
@misc{rufous_headed_chachalaca_2026,
  title = {Rufous-headed chachalaca (Ortalis erythroptera)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/rufous-headed-chachalaca},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}