English

A chachalaca (Ortalis ruficauda)

Wikispecies

Noun

chachalaca ‎(plural chachalacas)

1. Any of several cracid birds, of the genus Ortalis, limited to the Americas, that resemble the guans.

Derived terms

• buff-browed chachalaca, Ortalis superciliaris
• Chaco chachalaca, Ortalis canicollis
• chestnut-winged chachalaca, Ortalis garrula
• Colombian chachalaca, Ortalis columbiana (subspecies of speckled chachalaca)
• grey-headed chachalaca, Ortalis cinereiceps
• little chachalaca, Ortalis motmot
• plain chachalaca, Ortalis vetula
• rufous-bellied chachalaca, Ortalis wagleri
• rufous-headed chachalaca, Ortalis erythroptera
• rufous-vented chachalaca, Ortalis ruficauda
• speckled chachalaca, chestnut-headed chachalaca, East Brazilian chachalaca, scaled chachalaca, Ortalis guttata
• West Mexican chachalaca, Ortalis poliocephala
• white-bellied chachalaca, Ortalis leucogastra

Translations

Spanish

Etymology

From Classical Nahuatl chachalacani ‎(“tattler, gossiper”), from chāchalāni ‎(“to make a hubbub, create an uproar”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʃa.tʃa.ˈla.ka/

Noun

chachalaca f ‎(plural chachalacas)

1. chachalaca
2. (colloquial, Mexico, Central America) babbler, yapper
3. (colloquial, Guatemala) chatter
4. (colloquial, El Salvador) chatty (said of a person)

References

“chachalaca” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima segunda edición, Real Academia Española, 2001.