The Story
I made this photo of a Colombian Chachalaca (Ortalis columbiana) at Posada Turística Kenisha in Prado, Tolima, Colombia. It is found only in Colombia, in the inter-Andean Cauca and Magdalena valleys. It lives on the edges of dry to humid forest and mature second growth, and it can survive in scrub and thickets. It is social, and groups of up to 20 have been seen. Hunting and habitat loss have wiped it out from many places where it once lived. Prado’s main attraction is the Darío Echandía reservoir, an artificial lake fed by the Cunday and Negro rivers.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800, +1 EV. IUCN lists the Colombian Chachalaca as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Colombian Chachalaca (Ortalis columbiana) belongs to the family Cracidae (Guans, Chachalacas, and Curassows) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List