Scytalopus

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Scytalopus
Magellanic tapaculo (Scytalopus magellanicus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Rhinocryptidae
Genus: Scytalopus
Gould, 1837
Type species
Motacilla magellanica
Magellanic tapaculo
Species

49 species, see list

Scytalopus is a genus of small suboscine passerine birds belonging to the tapaculo family Rhinocryptidae. They are found in South and Central America from Tierra del Fuego to Costa Rica, but are absent from the Amazon Basin. They inhabit dense vegetation at or near ground-level and are mainly found in mountainous regions, particularly the Andes. They can be very difficult to see as they run through the undergrowth in a mouse-like fashion.

Description

They are plump with short tails that often are held cocked. Depending on species, the total length is 10–14 cm (4-5½ in). Their plumage is blackish or grey. Several species have brown bellies, rumps or flanks; often with some barring. A few have white crowns or eyebrows. Juveniles of most species are browner and have barred flanks. Many species are essentially impossible to separate by their plumage, but songs and calls are often distinctive and important for species identification.

Behavior

Their diet consists mainly of insects. Little is known about the breeding habits of most species but the eggs are usually white and the nest is usually ball-shaped and made of plant material such as root-fibres and mosses. It is built in a cavity in sites such as earth banks or among the roots or bark of trees.

Taxonomy

The genus Scytalopus was introduced in 1837 by the English ornithologist John Gould.[1] The name combines the Ancient Greek skutalē or skutalon meaning "stick" with pous meaning "foot".[2] The type species was specified in 1840 by George Robert Gray as the Magellanic tapaculo.[3]

The species-limits within this genus is among the most complex matters in Neotropical ornithology. They are highly cryptic, and identification using visual features often is impossible. Vocal and biochemical data is typically needed to clarify the taxonomic status of the various populations. Several new species have been described in recent years (e.g. S. stilesi and S. rodriguezi from Colombia). The taxonomic status of many of the Andean species was resolved by Krabbe & Schulenberg (1997) who split a number of species and described three new ones. The confusing situation is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that only 10 species were recognized in this genus in 1970 (Krabbe & Schulenberg, 2003), while the figure now is more than four times as high. Additionally, still undescribed species are known to exist, while some species as currently defined actually may include several species (e.g. the southern population of the large-footed tapaculo may represent an undescribed species). Donegan & Avendano recently reviewed the Colombian and Venezuelan species, formally describing one new subspecies and providing details of a further three undescribed species or subspecies to be described in future publications.

The Brazilian taxa are similarly complex with several recently described species and considerable confusion surrounding the use of the scientific name Scytalopus speluncae.

Conservation

Some species have highly localized distributions, and being poor fliers, they easily become isolated in small populations. BirdLife International currently (2007) consider one species vulnerable (Scytalopus panamensis) and three species endangered (S. iraiensis, S. rodriguezi and S. robbinsi).

Species list

The genus contains 49 species. The white-breasted and Bahia tapaculos were formerly placed in this genus, but these two species are now known to be closer to the bristlefronts (genus Merulaxis) and have therefore been moved to Eleoscytalopus.[4]

Image Common Name Scientific name Distribution
Marsh tapaculo or wetland tapaculo Scytalopus iraiensis Brazil.
Diamantina tapaculo Scytalopus diamantinensis Brazil (Bahia)
Brasília tapaculo Scytalopus novacapitalis Brazil (Goiás, the Distrito Federal, and western Minas Gerais.)
Rock tapaculo Scytalopus petrophilus Brazil (Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo)
Planalto tapaculo Scytalopus pachecoi southeastern Brazil and extreme northeastern Argentina.
Blackish tapaculo Scytalopus latrans Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
Mouse-coloured tapaculo Scytalopus speluncae Brazil (Espírito Santo to northeastern Rio Grande do Sul.)
Dusky tapaculo Scytalopus fuscus Chile.
Magellanic tapaculo Scytalopus magellanicus Chile (Tierra del Fuego as far as Valparaíso Region), Argentina ( San Juan Province)
Ancash tapaculo Scytalopus affinis Peru.
White-winged tapaculo Scytalopus krabbei Peru
Loja tapaculo Scytalopus androstictus Ecuador (Zamora-Chinchipe Province), Peru( Department of Cajamarca)
Paramo tapaculo Scytalopus opacus southern Colombia to south-central Ecuador
Paramillo tapaculo Scytalopus canus Colombia.
White-browed tapaculo Scytalopus superciliaris northwestern Argentina
Zimmer's tapaculo Scytalopus zimmeri Bolivia and Argentina
Puna tapaculo Scytalopus simonsi Bolivia and Peru
Diademed tapaculo Scytalopus schulenbergi Bolivia and Peru.
Vilcabamba tapaculo Scytalopus urubambae Peru
Ampay tapaculo Scytalopus whitneyi Peru.
Jalca tapaculo Scytalopus frankeae Peru.
Neblina tapaculo Scytalopus altirostris northern Peru
Trilling tapaculo Scytalopus parvirostris Bolivia and Peru.
Bolivian tapaculo Scytalopus bolivianus Bolivia and Peru.
White-crowned tapaculo Scytalopus atratus Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
Santa Marta tapaculo Scytalopus sanctaemartae Colombia (Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta)
Long-tailed tapaculo Scytalopus micropterus Colombia, Ecuador and far northern Peru
Rufous-vented tapaculo Scytalopus femoralis Peru
Utcubamba tapaculo Scytalopus intermedius Peru.
Large-footed tapaculo Scytalopus macropus Peru.
Junin tapaculo Scytalopus gettyae Peru.
Unicolored tapaculo Scytalopus unicolor Peru.
Tschudi's tapaculo Scytalopus acutirostris Peru.
Bahian mouse-colored tapaculo or Boa Nova tapaculo Scytalopus gonzagai Brazil(Bahia)
Silvery-fronted tapaculo Scytalopus argentifrons Costa Rica and Panama.
Nariño tapaculo Scytalopus vicinior Colombia and Ecuador.
Tacarcuna tapaculo or pale-throated tapaculo Scytalopus panamensis Panama and Colombia
Chocó tapaculo Scytalopus chocoensis Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama.
Magdalena tapaculo Scytalopus rodriguezi Colombia
Stiles's tapaculo Scytalopus stilesi Colombia
Tatama tapaculo Scytalopus alvarezlopezi Colombia
El Oro tapaculo or Ecuadorian tapaculo Scytalopus robbinsi south-western Ecuador
Caracas tapaculo Scytalopus caracae Venezuela.
Pale-bellied tapaculo Scytalopus griseicollis Colombia and Venezuela
Brown-rumped tapaculo Scytalopus latebricola Colombia
Perijá tapaculo Scytalopus perijanus Colombia, Venezuela
Mérida tapaculo Scytalopus meridanus Venezuela.
Chusquea tapaculo Scytalopus parkeri southern Ecuador and far northern Peru.
Spillmann's tapaculo Scytalopus spillmanni Colombia and Ecuador.

References

  1. ^ Gould, John (1837). "Genus Scytalopus". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. Part 4 (46): 89. Although the volume bears the date of 1836, the issue was not published until 1837.
  2. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 352. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  3. ^ Gray, George Robert (1840). A List of the Genera of Birds : with an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus. London: R. and J.E. Taylor. p. 19.
  4. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Antthrushes, antpittas, gnateaters, tapaculos, crescentchests". IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
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