Dusky Tapaculo
Scytalopus fuscus
Often heard but rarely seen; a retiring little gray bird of bamboo thickets and other dense shrubbery at forest edges, along streams, and in wooded patches, mainly in drier areas. Can move very quickly through bamboo like a mouse. Plumage is slaty gray overall, sometimes with paler barring, but overall plainer than Magellanic Tapaculo without silvery-white head spots. Best identified by voice. Also compare with Ochre-flanked Tapaculo, which has limited range overlap.
Identification
The dusky tapaculo is 11 cm (4.3 in) long. It is essentially gray all over, darker above and lighter below. The lower back and rump have a brown wash and the flanks are sometimes pale tawny brown with black bars.
Taxonomy
The dusky tapaculo was formerly considered a subspecies of Magellanic tapaculo (Scytalopus magellanicus). Following 1997 and 2003 publications, it was raised to species status because of vocal differences and because the two are sympatric over part of their ranges.
- Scientific name
- Scytalopus fuscus
- Authority
- Gould, 1837
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Rhinocryptidae
- Genus
- Scytalopus
Range and habitat
The dusky tapaculo is found only in central Chile. It ranges from southern Atacama Region south to Biobío Region at elevations from sea level to 800 m (2,600 ft). It inhabits the bottoms of densely vegetated valleys.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
No information has been published about the dusky tapaculo's diet or foraging behavior.<p>Little has been published about the dusky tapaculo's breeding phenology. One nest has been described. It was a globe made of root fibers and moss with a horse hair lining, placed at the end of a tunnel 0.6 m (2.0 ft) long.<p>The dusky tapaculo's song is a repeated short rising trill [1].
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Bar-tailed Trogon
Apaloderma vittatum
Typically beautiful green-and-red trogon. The bottom of the tail is heavily barred black-and-white, and this pattern can also be seen along the edges of the top of the tail. Found in moist montane forest. Usually seen singly or in pairs. Quiet and inconspicuous bird of the mid-story. Usually detected by song: a series of 6-15 downslurred “teew” notes, which becomes louder as the series progresses. Separated from other African trogons by the barred tail.
Sooty Gull
Ichthyaetus hemprichii
Medium-sized elongated gull. Brown-gray overall with a long bill and dark underwings. Similar to White-eyed Gull, but with dark underwings. Slightly larger and heavier with browner adult plumage than White-eyed Gull. The bill on Sooty Gull is also thicker and clearly two-toned in all ages compared to White-eyed Gull. Coastal, breeds on islands and coral reefs.
Sickle-billed Vanga
Falculea palliata
Huge black-and-white vanga with a long curved bill. Juveniles have shorter bills. Madagascar endemic that is found at low elevations in spiny forest, dry deciduous forest, scrub, and plantations. Feeds by probing into cracks and crevices with its long bill, sometimes hanging upside down to do so. Very loud and vocal, giving a variety of calls including scolds, rasps, and a long wail that sounds almost like a human baby. Much larger than White-headed and Chabert Vangas, with a longer, curved bill.
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