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
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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A large pigeon of montane forest canopy on Mindoro with a metallic green wing and rump, a bronzy back, a buffy throat, and gray underparts, sides of the neck, and crown. Note the red eye-ring and the broad gray central band in the black tail. Somewhat similar to Pink-bellied Imperial-Pigeon, but Mindoro lacks the dark neck and chest. Also similar to Green Imperial-Pigeon, but Mindoro is usually found higher up and has a dark back and a red eye-ring. Song is two deep, booming hoots.
White-bellied Hummingbird
Elliotomyia chionogaster
Medium-sized hummingbird of middle and high elevations. Green above, white below, with a pinkish lower mandible. Found around forest edges and scrubby open habitats. Distinguished with care from the very similar Green-and-white Hummingbird by the white extending lower onto the underside of the tail, and by its sometimes lighter pink lower mandible; it is also typically found in more open habitats than that species.
Dusky-billed Parrotlet
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A tiny, bright green parrot found throughout much of the Amazon basin. Dusky-billed has darker green plumage and a dark upper bill compared to the very similar Blue-winged Parrotlet. Dusky-billed is also less likely to be found around clearings than Blue-winged. Often first noticed by the incessant high-pitched, buzzy calls given by flocks, not as high-pitched and piercing as the calls of Blue-winged.
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