Ortalis ruficauda

Greetings to this beautiful community Feathered Friends. I think this is the first time I have published in this niche, so I am happy, because it is a space in which beautiful birds are valued, and there is nothing better than being able to observe them in freedom in their own natural environment. I congratulate you for promoting this type of content.

The photos that I brought today, (to be honest), are not of excellent quality, I did my best, but my phone does not have much range with the zoom and also, the trees on my lot are very tall, and generally the birds are at a considerable height, making it difficult to take good photos. Today I am going to talk to you about the well-known GUACHARACA, whose scientific name is Ortalis ruficauda, a very common bird in several areas of Venezuela.

I took these photos on two occasions, both at midday, when I usually go to the lot, to see the turtles and to leave some water for the animals that live in this part of my house. Guacharacas are birds that can be seen both in the fields and in urban areas, as long as there is abundant vegetation. I live in the center of a small town, but here it is common for very leafy trees to be kept in the backyards of the houses, and this attracts many species, such as the guacharacas.

These animals are gregarious, that is, they walk in groups. I had previously seen these that were visiting my lot in groups of five individuals, however, on this occasion I saw only three, although in most of the photos only one individual can be seen, and in others two, but really There were three of them, which according to the size I deduced are dad, mom and baby.

In some parts of my country, these little animals are not well regarded, because they eat the fruits and flowers of trees and plants. I really don't care, I have a lot of fruit on the lot, and just as I can eat, the animals can too, we all have the right, we are all part of Mother Earth. I know they like to be in my neighbor's mango trees (Mangifera indica), in fact, some photos are in one of those trees. They also hang out in my mamón tree (Melicoccus bijugatus), or in my tamarind tree (Tamarindus indica). I think they like to eat some star currants (Phyllanthus acidus), guavas (Psidium guajava), pomegranates (Punica granatum) and caujaro (Cordia alba), these last fruits are loved by them, as well as by parrots and possums. This is essential, because through their feces, guacharacas can spread seeds throughout various areas, collaborating with reforestation and the enrichment of ecosystems.

I have also heard that there are people who hunt them and eat them, as if they were a wild chicken. I don't know what to think about it, I don't question that some people hunt out of hunger, but I doubt that they can extract much meat from these animals, since they are relatively small, at least this variety, which is the one I know, because as I read in the review bibliography that I carried out, (you can see the links in the bibliography section), its maximum weight is 800 grams, and from this we must subtract the weight of the feathers, bones and some viscera, so I don't know what they can eat.

In the bibliographic review that I carried out, I found some interesting data, which I will now present:

They belong to the genus Ortalis, order Galliformes, and the family Cracidae. There are more than 15 species of the Ortalis genus, which are distributed from North America to South America, they even inhabit some islands in the Caribbean Sea, such as this specific species, Ortalis ruficauda, which is distributed on the island of Trinidad and Tobago, part of Colombia and part of my country, Venezuela, especially towards the North and Coastal area. According to the review of the distribution map of the species, the state where I live, which is in the center of the country, also falls into said zone.
Not only do they eat fruits and flowers, they also consume insects and seeds, so in addition to being valuable plant disseminators, they are pest biocontrollers.
They measure 53 to 61 centimeters, and weigh between 450 and 800 grams, so I don't understand how much food the humans can get from them.
Their habits are diurnal, that's why I was able to photograph them at noon.
They are very noisy, their song is very characteristic, similar to their name, Guacharaca, and they communicate with each other by singing that way.

Here I end my post today, where I have told you about these beautiful birds, which fulfill an important function as disseminators of plant species and biocontrollers within ecosystems. Remember that each animal is important and fulfills a fundamental ecological niche in nature. A hug for all!

Source of photographs

All photos have been taken by me, with my Redmi 8A cell phone

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