Is the Utila chachalaca extinct or what?

[Amazonas_Alex]

Hi,

Aim going to Utila Island for some birding in late April to early March.

But how about its endemic chachalaca? I want to know its true status.

I never seems to understand if its extinct or has been "rediscovered", I heard that it was classified as possibly extinct in 1995 after decades of hunting and habitat lost. It was apparently very rare in the 60s and 70s. But then suddenly in 2000-2001 (?) I heard that the subspecies still survived after all, but as far as I know there was never any confirmed records and no true survey of this specific subspecies was carried out. :scribe:

So aim getting a bit confused, I havent heard a single word since 2000-2001 and most info on the internet seems to be all old and based on the info from the 60s to 1995.

As aim going to this specific Island I would like to know if there even is a slightly chance of seeing this bird, or if its gone forever.


Any info to sort out this mess is welcome

[cuckooroller]

Alex,
It was recorded by David Medina on Utila in 2000. Tom Jenner, a member of BirdForum, may be able to give you more information.

[Amazonas_Alex]

Thanks Steve

I have send a PM to Tom, hopefully he will be able to sort it out ;)

[tomjenner]

I've actually not not heard anything before about this subspecies. Where did you hear about it? I certainly didn't see any chachalacas on Utila when I visited a few years ago, but it wasn't really a birding holiday. The island is really very small, so its hard to imagine that such a conspicuous (because of its calls) bird would be hard to track down. When I get back from work today I'll look it up in some books on Honduran birds and see what they say.

Tom

[cuckooroller]

Tom,

Just so you don't have to waste time. I referenced this: http://www.birdinghonduras.com/Birding_Trip_Islas.htm

The bird in question is a race of Plain Chachalaca, i.e. race deschauenseei. Ortalis vetula.

Edit: "Come non detto"! I just saw there was another related thread in which you had placed the same link.

[tomjenner]

I couldn't find anything in Bonta and Anderson (2003) about this subspecies, though its mainly a site guide and species list and doesn't really go into such things. Monroe (1968) was mainly interested in the distribution and taxonomy of Honduran birds and he says the following "The subspecies from Utila Island, O. v. deschauenseei, is a distinct form, differing from the mainland race, O. v. plumbiceps, in the more ochraceous tips to the outer rectrices, greener (less brown) coloration above, lack of sharp contrast between the gray pileum and the back color, and large size (wing > 205 as opposed to < 198)." There is no indication from what is written that this form is particularly distinct or warrents specific status. I would still be very interested in knowing where you heard about this form, as I thought I would have heard about any interesting subspecies before now and I am interested in finding any new sources on Honduran birds.

Tom

[Amazonas_Alex]

I couldn't find anything in Bonta and Anderson (2003) about this subspecies, though its mainly a site guide and species list and doesn't really go into such things. Monroe (1968) was mainly interested in the distribution and taxonomy of Honduran birds and he says the following "The subspecies from Utila Island, O. v. deschauenseei, is a distinct form, differing from the mainland race, O. v. plumbiceps, in the more ochraceous tips to the outer rectrices, greener (less brown) coloration above, lack of sharp contrast between the gray pileum and the back color, and large size (wing > 205 as opposed to < 198)." There is no indication from what is written that this form is particularly distinct or warrents specific status. I would still be very interested in knowing where you heard about this form, as I thought I would have heard about any interesting subspecies before now and I am interested in finding any new sources on Honduran birds.

Tom

I first read about it in HBW1, then I searched a bit on the internet and found a few matches. It at least seems to be valid, as the most recent sources I have found states that.