Plain chachalaca
Chapter 10: More birds! More Sounds!
Subchapter: More birds! More Sounds!—Americas
From page 169 in the book.
The plain chachalaca is a largely arboreal bird, related to grouse and chickens in the order Galliformes. In North America, it is a south Texas specialty, but this particular recording comes from Tikal National Park in Guatemala. This bird is named for its sounds, a loud, raucous, ear-shattering cha-cha-lac heard especially from awaking birds during early morning hours. A paired male and female duet, and the extended chorus from several pairs at dawn is exhilarating.
♫710. In this awaking chorus, the nearby male starts it off with his loud, low cha-cha-lac, the female immediately responding with her higher-pitched version. He's off to the left, she to the right in this stereo recording. Other pairs in the background sound off as well.
February 15, 2011. Tikal National Park, Guatemala. (2:33)