Ortalis guttata
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The speckled chachalaca (Ortalis guttata) is a medium-sized bird belonging to the family Cracidae (chachalacas, guans, and curassows). This species is found across the Amazonian regions of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The two Amazonian subspecies are generally common and inhabit low or open forest, thickets, and riparian areas. A third, isolated subspecies is found in a small area of southeastern Brazil.
The taxonomic history of the speckled chachalaca is complex. It was at one time considered conspecific with what was then called the variable chachalaca (Ortalis motmot) and buff-browed chachalaca (O. superciliaris). They were split and the variable chachalaca has since been split further. (Confusingly, the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) then renamed O. motmot little chachalaca but the American Ornithological Society (AOS) and the Clements taxonomy retained the name "variable" for it.) Later still, three more species were split from speckled chachalaca, the East Brazilian (O. araucuan), scaled (O. squamata), and Colombian (O. columbiana) chachalacas.
The speckled chachalaca as now understood has three subspecies, the nominate... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 2 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 3 | Sierra de la Macarena National Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 4 | Amacayacu National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 5 | Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 6 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 7 | Podocarpus National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 🇧🇴 Bolivia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amaru | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 2 | Bioparque Los Ocarros | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 3 | Zoologico Mundo Andino - Tipon | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 4 | Agroflori Parque de las Aves | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 5 | Tropical Manaus Zoo | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Speckled Chachalaca sighting in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve on a given day, based on 130 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 61st most-seen of the 328 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March, August and November–January
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Speckled Chachalaca in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve on a given day, against about 10% in February, April, June and September–October, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Speckled Chachalaca sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Speckled Chachalaca sightings, Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve ranks 5th at about 20%. The best odds are in Manu National Park (Peru, about 40%), Yasuní National Park (Ecuador, about 40%) and Sierra de la Macarena National Park (Colombia, about 30%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Cracidae
The closest relatives of the Speckled Chachalaca that you can see in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve (family Cracidae, Guans, Chachalacas, and Curassows) are Spix's Guan (about 20%) and Blue-throated Piping-Guan (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Speckled Chachalaca is recorded against all the birds logged in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve (130 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
