Plain Brown Chachalaca

Sadly plain and brown best describes the Chachalaca. The loud bird can be found in groups of three to five birds in thick brush, mesquite trees and thorny thickets of the Rio Grande Valley. The bird is native to the region and about the size and shape of a female pheasant.


There is no mistaking the high pitch sounds of a flock of Chachalaca whose call sounds just like their name cha-cha-lac-a. They are particularly talkative during the early morning hours long before the sun rises and their call increases considerably during the February-March breeding season.