Chusquea Tapaculo
Scytalopus parkeri
Drab, mouse-like bird found in high-elevation cloud forest along the east slope of the Andes in southern Ecuador and far northern Peru. Plumage is gray with brown on lower back, wings, vent, and tail. If seen well, it may show faint barring on rump and vent. Similar to several other tapaculos, and best identified by range, elevation, and voice. Stays near the ground in the forest understory, and favors areas with stands of bamboo. Usual song is a very fast series of tripled notes.
Identification
Male chusquea tapaculos weigh 21 to 24.4 g (0.74 to 0.86 oz) and females 18.8 to 22.3 g (0.66 to 0.79 oz). Adults of both sexes are dark gray above and lighter gray below. The lower back and rump are brown. The lower belly is yellowish and the flanks and vent area are yellowish to cinnamon with blackish bars. Juveniles are lightish brown above with blackish bars; the underparts are dark with pale bars.
Taxonomy
The chusquea tapaculo is monotypic. It and Spillmann's tapaculo (Scytalopus spillmanni) form a superspecies.
- Scientific name
- Scytalopus parkeri
- Authority
- Krabbe & Schulenberg, 1997
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Rhinocryptidae
- Genus
- Scytalopus
Range and habitat
The chusquea tapaculo is found only in southern Ecuador and northernmost Peru, from the East Andes and the Chilla Mountains of Ecuador south to Cordillera del Cóndor that straddles the Ecuador-Peru border. As its name implies, the chusquea tapaculo inhabits Chusquea bamboo stands and adjacent undergrowth in humid montane forest. In Ecuador it ranges in elevation from 2,250 to 3,350 m (7,380 to 10,990 ft) but in Peru only to 2,900 m (9,500 ft)
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Very little is known about the chusquea tapaculo's diet except that it appears to be mostly insects. Nothing has been published about its foraging behavior.<p>The chusquea tapacolo's nest is a ball of moss lined with fine fibers and placed in a natural cavity in an earthen bank. The only two clutches described each had two eggs. At one nest both adults incubated the eggs. Though year round nesting has been suggested, most breeding in far southeastern Ecuador was between August and December.<p>The male chusquea tapaculo's song is a series of 10 to 12 notes that fall in pitch and then level off [1]. What appears to be an excited call is this [2].
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Black-headed Tanager
Stilpnia cyanoptera
Small bird of foothill forests. Males have a pale buffy body with black head, wings, and tail; females are much more drab, with a grayish-green head, pale bluish-green back, and yellowish underparts. In good light, both sexes show blue in flight feathers. Found in foothill forests and edge habitats, dry valleys, and in humid forest around the bases of the tepuis. Usually observed at fruiting trees, often in pairs or small family groups, from lower levels into canopy. Calls are indistinct chips and twitters. Plumage pattern of male is distinctive; females are more confusing but are seldom seen without males, facilitating identification; note contrasting gray head and (at close range) blue in wings.
Foothill Stipplethroat
Epinecrophylla spodionota
Small antwren of dense foothill forests. Male is grayish with the black speckled throat that gives this group of antwrens their name. Note also the bold whitish wingbars, and brown flanks, rump, and tail. Females are entirely tan with bold wingbars. Forages in the understory of mature forest, often in mixed-species flocks. Song is a rising-falling series of high pitched notes.
Glow-throated Hummingbird
Selasphorus ardens
Tiny, poorly-known hummingbird with extremely limited range in western Panama. Males are greenish above with rusty flanks, a pinkish-red throat, and a white collar. Note dark tail with rufous edging. Compare with male Scintillant Hummingbird, which has a mostly rufous tail and an orange throat. Female Glow-throated has a speckled throat, buffy flanks, and greenish upperparts. The central tail feathers are greenish while the rest of tail is rufous with a black band and buffy tips. Female Scintillant is very similar and may not be separable in the field, but has more extensive rufous edges on central tail feathers. Found at the edge of montane forest from around 750–1,800 m.
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