About Ortalis motmot (Linnaeus, 1766)
Ortalis motmot, commonly known as the little chachalaca, measures 43 to 54 cm (1.4 to 1.8 ft) in length and weighs 345 to 620 g (0.76 to 1.4 lb). It has a reddish chestnut head, reddish brown to gray-brown upperparts, and gray underparts. Its central tail feathers are gray-brown, while the outer tail feathers are rusty. Its primary flight feathers are dark brown, and the skin on its face is dark slate gray. The little chachalaca’s range extends from southern and eastern Venezuela east through the Guianas into northern Brazil, reaching south to the Amazon River east of the Rio Negro. The American Ornithological Society considers the species to be hypothetical in Colombia. It makes its home in riverbank undergrowth, clearings, abandoned pastures, dense secondary forest, and coastal brush, and avoids the interior of dense forest. It occurs at elevations from sea level up to 1,700 m (5,600 ft).
