A photograph of a paper cutout of a photo of a Plain Chachalaca bird perched in a brushy Texas landscape with warm light
“Plain Chachalaca” in a brushy woodland near the Tex-Mex border

Plain Chachalaca

PLCH
  • Scientific: Ortalis vetula
  • Spanish: Chachalaca Norteña
  • French: Ortalide chacamel
  • Family: Chachalacas
  • Bird Code: PLCH

If there is a 3° C increase in temperature due to unmitigated climate change

Predicted percentage of habitat lost

35%
Summer range lost
14%
Winter range lost

Climate and other threats imore info

Habitat

Woodlands, savannahs, mesquite brushlands, and thickets.

Range

Commonly found in a limited range in Southern Texas and the Gulf Coast of Mexico. It is the only member of the family of guans, curassows, and chachalacas to reach the United States. Many in this family are endangered in their South American and Mexican range due to hunting.

Silhouette of Grace's Warbler
Did you know?

As far back as 1585, the Mayans at Tenochtitlan referred to this plain brown, chicken-sized bird as chachalacametl.