The Chocó tapaculo (''Scytalopus chocoensis'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family Rhinocryptidae. It is found in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

, and

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

Taxonomy and systematics

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).Krabbe, N. and Schulenberg, T.S. (1997). Species limits and natural history of ''Scytalopus'' tapaculos (Rhinocryptidae), with descriptions of the Ecuadorian taxa, including three new species. Pp. 46–88 in: Remsen (1997)Krabbe, N. and T. S. Schulenberg (2020). Choco Tapaculo (''Scytalopus chocoensis''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.chotap1.01 retrieved April 28, 2021

Description

The Chocó tapaculo is long. Males weigh and females . 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.

Distribution 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 An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

but is also found at forest edges. In Panama it ranges in elevation from and in Colombia and Ecuador from .

Behavior

Feeding

Little is known beyond that the Chocó tapaculo forages on the ground for insects.

Breeding

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 in diameter hidden in leaf litter. It contained nestlings that were being fed by both adults.

Vocalization

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

The call is a series of short sharp notes

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed the Chocó tapaculo as being of Least Concern. Despite its somewhat small range and unknown population numbers, both are believed large enough to warrant that classification.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1261876 Chocó tapaculo Birds of the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena Chocó tapaculo Chocó tapaculo Taxonomy articles created by Polbot