The Story
I photographed this Rufous-vented Chachalaca (Ortalis ruficauda) at Laguna El Juncal, near Tauramena, Casanare, Colombia, in January 2020. It belongs to an ancient bird family, the Cracidae, which is related to the mound builders of Australasia. In Venezuela it is called guacharaca, and on Tobago it is the cocrico, one of the national birds of Trinidad and Tobago. It is a noisy bird, and pairs call in close duet at dawn. It is social, often seen in family groups walking along branches to eat fruit, leaves and seeds. IUCN lists it as Least Concern, with a stable population.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800. Tauramena was founded in 1663 by Governor Pedro Ordóñez de Vargas with Achagua people from the Upía and Cusiana rivers.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Rufous-vented Chachalaca (Ortalis ruficauda) 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 2023), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List