Nariño Tapaculo
Scytalopus vicinior
A standard Scytalopus tapaculo: plain dark gray with browner flanks and rump. Acts like a mouse, scurrying around on or near the ground within montane forest. Very difficult to see. Restricted range on the west slope of the Andes in Colombia and Ecuador. Occurs from around 1,250–2,000 m, which is higher than Choco Tapaculo but lower than Spillmann’s Tapaculo (but some overlap). Far more often heard than seen. Listen for fairly rapid trill with distinct notes; notably slower than Spillmann’s.
Identification
The Nariño tapaculo looks similar to several other Andean tapaculos. The male's head is dark gray, the back is dark gray or brown, and the rump is cinnamon with dusky bars. The throat, chest, and belly are lighter gray and the flanks and vent area are yellowish brown with blackish bars. The female is similar, but the back is browner, the throat is lighter gray, and the lower belly sometimes yellower.
Taxonomy
The Nariño tapaculo was originally described as a subspecies of Tacarcuna tapaculo (Scytalopus panamensis) and was retained there until after Krabbe and Schulenberg (1997) noted "no particular similarity, either in plumage or in voice, between true S. vicinior and S. panamensis".
- Scientific name
- Scytalopus vicinior
- Authority
- Zimmer, JT, 1939
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Rhinocryptidae
- Genus
- Scytalopus
Range and habitat
The Nariño tapaculo is found on the west slope of the Andes from Colombia's Risaralda and Chocó Departments south to southwestern Cotopaxi Province in Ecuador. There it primarily inhabits the understory of moist montane forest and sometimes forest edges. In elevation it generally ranges from 1,250 to 2,000 m (4,100 to 6,560 ft) but can be found as high as 2,350 m (7,710 ft) in Ecuador.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The Nariño tapaculo preys on a variety of insects, but little more is known about its feeding phenology. Little is also known about its breeding behavior other than that breeding condition specimens were collected in November, December, and April.<p>The Nariño tapaculo's song is "a fast series of well-enunciated, ringing notes that starts out with a brief stutter but then may go on for 15-30 seconds, pididi-ü--ü--ü--ü--ü--ü--ü--ü--ü--ü--ü" [1].
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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