Choco Tapaculo
Scytalopus chocoensis
A standard Scytalopus tapaculo: plain dark gray with browner flanks and rump. Acts like a mouse, scurrying around on or near the ground within forests. Very difficult to see. Restricted range on west slope of Andes in Colombia and Ecuador. Occurs from around 350–1,000 m elevation, lower than Nariño Tapaculo. Far more often heard than seen. Listen for fairly slow series of piercing “peew” notes, much slower than Nariño.
Identification
The Chocó tapaculo is 11 cm (4.3 in) long. Males weigh 19 to 22.5 g (0.67 to 0.79 oz) and females 17 to 20.1 g (0.60 to 0.71 oz). The male's mantle is dark gray, its lower back gray with a brown wash, and the rump dark brown with dusky bars. It is lighter gray below to the lower belly, which is reddish-brown with dark bars. The female is similar but the brownish wash extends to the head. The throat is lighter gray than the upper breast; the lower belly sometimes has a yellowish wash. The juvenile's upper parts are drab brown but for the dark brown rump; it appears barred below.
Taxonomy
The Chocó tapaculo was formerly considered a subspecies of the Nariño tapaculo (Scytalopus vicinior) but was elevated to species status following Krabbe and Schulenberg (1997).
- Scientific name
- Scytalopus chocoensis
- Authority
- Krabbe & Schulenberg, 1997
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Rhinocryptidae
- Genus
- Scytalopus
Range and habitat
The Chocó tapaculo is found in two small areas on the Pacific slope of eastern Panama and separately in a narrow band from western Colombia south into northwestern Ecuador. It principally inhabits the dense understory of humid primary forest but is also found at forest edges. In Panama it ranges in elevation from 1,340 to 1,465 m (4,396 to 4,806 ft) and in Colombia and Ecuador from 250 to 1,250 m (820 to 4,100 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Little is known beyond that the Chocó tapaculo forages on the ground for insects.<p>A female with active gonads was captured in February; nests with juveniles were found in August. A nest was described as a ball of rootlets and moss 12 cm (4.7 in) in diameter hidden in leaf litter. It contained nestlings that were being fed by both adults.<p>The Chocó tapaculo's song is "a very resonant series 5-60 seconds long...the first few notes often slightly lower-pitched and delivered at a faster rate" [1]. The call is a series of short sharp notes [2].
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Red-throated Caracara
Ibycter americanus
Large, raucous forest raptor. Unmistakable by virtue of its size, social habits, and loud, incessant calls. At a distance, note slow flight and contrasting white belly. Found in regions of continuous lowland forest; does not occur in extensively disturbed areas. Mostly observed in the canopy and mid-story where it knocks down wasp and bee nests to the ground to feed on the larvae; also consumes fruit. Groups will approach and mob humans passing through their territory.
Masked Antpitta
Hylopezus auricularis
Medium-sized antpitta of floodplain forest, particularly with palmetto understory, along the confluence of the Ríos Madre de Dios and Bení in the Riberalta area. The only antpitta in range with dark chevrons on underparts or a blue-gray cap. Forages on or near the ground, but generally perches 1-2 m up in the understory or midstory to sing at dawn. Visually distinctive in range, but song deceptively similar to, and perhaps indistinguishable from, local songs of Amazonian Antshrike. Call a more distinctive three to four-part descending whistle.
Ribbon-tailed Astrapia
Astrapia mayeri
A long-tailed bird of upper montane forest. The male has an iridescent green head and bib with a black chest band bordered with a thin gold stripe. Note the outlandishly long, white tail streamers. Female is blackish with barring on the belly and some iridescence on the head. Mainly eats fruit. Similar to Stephanie’s Astrapia, but Ribbon-tailed usually occurs at higher elevations. The female Ribbon-tailed has iridescence on the head and the male’s tail is white rather than black. Voice, excited, pulsing rasps.
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