The crazy sounds of Chachalacas

Chaco chachalacas make a crazy racket in the Pantanal, overpowering every other sounds with their raspy strident calls.

If you wake up just before sunrise to listen to the dawn chorus, you will witness the Pantanal slowly coming to life. The soft insect chorus of the night fades away as sparse birdsong emanates from woodlands and hedgerows. It's an idyllic atmosphere that invites immersion into the landscape and quiet contemplation.

Minutes later, the soft stillness is broken by a crazy racket! The Chaco chachalaca (Ortalis canicollis) is a bird that's not known for beautiful songs or subtlety. They don't care about the soft dawn chorus, or anyone's hearing. Their strident calls are given as solo, duets and groups without regard to conventional aesthetics. To my ears it sounds like bricks being thrown around in a metal box. Wikipedia's onomatopoeic transcription is 'bink, ka chee chaw raw taw, chaw raw taw, chaw raw taw' which is pretty great, but fails to capture the intensity and chaos of the calls. Hopefully this recording will fix that.

While not conventionally beautiful, these are some of the iconic sounds of the Pantanal and Gran Chaco landscapes in South America. Once you've heard the Chachalaca in its natural habitat a few times, hearing the calls again will take you back to these amazing places and you will forgive the chachalaca for its less than euphonious song.

Recorded with Zoom F3 and Sonorous Objects SO.2 microphones in the Brazilian Pantanal. Enjoying the videos I upload on here? Feel free to support me by:
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