A small group of young Gray-headed Chachalacas, Ortalis cinereiceps (linked to eBird) landed in my trees yesterday and did a lot of chattering before flying on elsewhere. The wind doesn’t seem to bother larger birds as much as the smaller ones. And this bird lives only between Guatemala and Columbia! Here’s 3 different views . . .
. . . as the birds seem to be making their return (though still windy some). And the National Bird, the Yigüirro, is singing his heart out as if it were April and the rains about to start. Some say that means the rainy season will begin earlier in April or maybe in March? Not normal, but then nothing about the weather has been normal this year. This shot was of a solo Gray-headed Chachalaca, Ortalis cinereiceps (my gallery link) in my Cecropia Tree. They are often in flocks, but none yet in my garden.
Gray-headed Chachalaca, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
The only “regular” (almost daily) large (Turkey-sized) bird in my garden is the Gray-headed Chachalaca, Ortalis cinereiceps (eBird link) which is found only in the southern parts of Central America or from Honduras to Columbia. When a whole flock of them swoop into one of my trees they are sort of “pests” because of their constant chatter. But lately it has only been 2 to 4 at a time which is less noise and more interesting to watch. See my many photos of this unique bird in my Chachalaca Gallery. Just one shot here.
Gray-headed Chachalaca, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Well, in this case, two totally different “feathers” are flocking together or at least sharing the same tree in a neighbor’s yard on a hill above me. First time I have seen the Keel-billed Toucan and the Gray-headed Chachalaca sharing a perch tree. (Names are linked to my galleries of each species.)
My landlord “K” texted me to say he looked down (his house is above mine on the same hill) to tell me that there were two toucans in my Cecropia Tree. I went out with my camera and as I looked up the last one of the two flew off. But fortunately both flew up a different hill into someone else’s tree which they shared with a Gray-headed Chachalaca. 🙂
And thanks to my telephoto lens I managed to get this shot of friendly neighbors of different species about a hundred yards away! 🙂 Maybe it’s an object lesson for us humans! 🙂
Two Keel-billed Toucans and a Gray-headed Chachalaca, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Regular noisy visitors all around my house that I haven’t been trying to photograph much recently. Interesting chicken-sized “chatterboxes.” 🙂 The Gray-headed Chachalaca, Ortalis cinereiceps (linked to my gallery). Here he is in my slowly dying Cecropia Tree that I will replace in another year or so.
Gray-headed Chachalaca, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica