Daily Archives: September 23, 2019

Bomb Chachalaca

Howdy all!  Let it be known that rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated.  Seems like a tired record these days, but the hustle and bustle is reaching peak levels.  The Halloween party is mere weeks away which brings with it outright panic.  This year it is twice the levels thanks to having to do the inside decorations and possibly the cooking along with the massive outdoor trail setup due to Linda still playing the recovery card (yes, I’ve been asking every one of her doctors just how many of those cards are left in the deck – good thing she can’t throw anything in her current state).  Waaaay behind on posts for the month, not to mention falling behind on reading the output of the others I follow.

Going with a quick one today so I can get back to prop building.  Today’s featured feathered friend is making its second appearance on the blog.

Plain Chachalaca found at Bentsen-Rio Grand Valley State Park in January 2018

You may recall this rather interesting looking bird is called a Plain Chachalaca – cha-cha-la ca.  Our previous sighting was at the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge back on our December 2016 trip down the Texas Gulf Coast (link here).  This happens to be one of those birds you don’t tend to forget after your first encounter and quick to recall as soon as your ears catch tone of their presence.  Their song signature is what led to the name.  Cornell declares it sounds like a “raucous” and very repetitive “chac, a lak”.  I on the other hand I feel it sounds more like two Bullfrogs being rubbed together in hopes of being able to start a fire.  Even their call is annoying as hell – would describe it as what it sounds like when you quickly squeeze the air out of Possum lungs.

Hit the jump to see a few more shots of this Central American chicken.

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