These birds are found in wooded habitats in the far southern United States (Texas),[1][2] Mexico, and Central and South America.

As agricultural pests, they have a ravenous appetite for tomatoes, melons, beans, and radishes and can ravage a small garden in short order.

[3] Their nests are made of sticks, twigs, leaves, or moss and are generally frail, flat structures only a few feet above the ground.

[6][7] The generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek word όρταλις, meaning "pullet"[8] or "domestic hen.

[11] Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data tentatively suggest that the chachalacas emerged as a distinct lineage during the Oligocene, somewhere around 40–20 mya, possibly being the first lineage of modern cracids to evolve; this does agree with the known fossil record – including indeterminate, cracid-like birds – which very cautiously favors a north-to-south expansion of the family.