Ortalis guttata
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
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 |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Speckled Chachalaca sighting in Yasuní National Park on a given day, based on 1,513 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 15th most-seen of the 533 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Speckled Chachalaca in Yasuní National Park on a given day, against about 30% in March–April, June and December, 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.
Among the best
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Speckled Chachalaca sightings, Yasuní National Park ranks 2nd at about 40%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Manu National Park (Peru, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Cracidae
The closest relatives of the Speckled Chachalaca that you can see in Yasuní National Park (family Cracidae, Guans, Chachalacas, and Curassows) are Blue-throated Piping-Guan (about 30%), Spix's Guan (about 20%) and Salvin's Curassow (about 10%), 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 Yasuní National Park (1,513 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.
