Nombre en español: Guacharaca Guajira

Nombre en ingles: Rufous-vented Chachalaca

Nombre científico: Ortalis ruficauda

Familia: Cracidae

Foto: Francisco Piedrahita

Canto: Peter Boesman

La guacharaca culirroja, chachalaca culirroja² o cocrico (Ortalis ruficauda) es una especie de ave galliformede la familia Cracidae que se encuentra en el noreste de Colombia, norte de Venezuela y en Tobago.

Descripción

Mide de 53 a 61cm de largo y pesa entre 450 y 800 g (las hembras 540 g y los machos 640 g en promedio). El plumaje es gris pizarra en la cabeza, el torso y el cuello; gris claro o blancuzco en el vientre, rojizo en la base de la cola y negro verduzco en la cola que termina en punta castaña o blanca.

El macho llama bajo ha-ha-rak-ka, la hembra responde alto gua-cha-lak, el sonido es similar al de la guacharaca, instrumento representativo del vallenato.

Comportamiento

Forma grupos de 6 a 20 individuos.

Se alimentan de frutos, semillas, insectos y flores.

Algunos las consideran un problema para los cultivos de jardines ornamentales ya que devoran las flores de determinadas plantas cultivadas. Algunas de las especies afectadas son: petrea volubili (chaparro morado, nazareno), bauhinia (urape, pata de vaca, flor de orquidea), jazmín trepador, tabebuia rosa (apamate), trinitarias sin tallos espinosos, entre otras.

Construyen nidos con palos pequeños y hojas; la hembra pone 3 o 4 huevos que incuban durante 28 días.

Se comunican entre bandadas para definir sus zonas territoriales emitiendo sonidos bulliciosos, metálicos y repetitivos.

Hábitat

Zonas verdes urbanas, matorrales, bosques secos o bosques de galería

Subespecies

Se conocen dos subespecies de Ortalis ruficauda:³

Ortalis ruficauda ruficrissa – norte tropical de Colombia y noroeste de Venezuela
Ortalis ruficauda ruficauda – de noreste de Colombia al norte de Venezuela, Tobago e Isla Margarita

Símbolo

Es el ave nacional de Trinidad y Tobago y aparece en su escudo al lado del Corocoro Rojo que representa a Trinidad, en tanto el cocrico simboliza a Tobago.

Rufous-vented chachalaca

The rufous-vented chachalaca (Ortalis ruficauda) is a member of an ancient group of birds of the family Cracidae, which are related to the Australasian mound builders. It inhabits northeast Colombia and northern Venezuela where it is called guacharaca, and the island of Tobago in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago where it is known as the cocrico and is one of the country’s two national birds. It is also found on Bequia and Union Island in the Grenadines where it may have been introduced.

The rufous-vented chachalaca is a largely arboreal species found in forest and woodland, but it is also found in more open dry scrubby areas. This combined with relatively low hunting pressure, make it far less vulnerable than larger members of the family, notably curassows.

These are medium-sized birds, similar in general appearance to turkeys, with small heads, long strong legs and a long broad tail. They are typically 53–58 cm long; the female weighs 540g and the larger male 640g. They have fairly dull plumage, dark brown above and paler below. The head is grey, and the brown tail is tipped rufous or white depending on race.

As other chachalacas, the rufous-vented chachalaca is a very noisy species, preferring to execute their vocal feats at dawn. The male’s call is a loud low ka-ka-rooki-rooki-ka, answered by the female’s high-pitched watch-a-lak, which they often repeat several times in a row, in precise synchronization.

The species is a social bird, often seen in family groups. It walks along branches seeking the fruit and seeds on which it feeds. It is an able flyer that can even take off and fly vertically, but does not usually fly long distances. The twig nest is built low in a tree, and three or four large white eggs are laid. The female incubates them alone.

This species is one of the national birds of Trinidad and Tobago and is featured on that country’s coat of arms along with the scarlet ibis, the ibis representing Trinidad and the cocrico, Tobago.

Subspecies

There are two subspecies:

O. r. ruficauda (Jardine, 1847) – northeast Colombia to northern Venezuela, also Tobago and Isla Margarita
O. r. ruficrissa (Sclater and Salvin, 1870) – northern Colombia and northwest Venezuela