The Paramillo tapaculo (''Scytalopus canus'') 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.

Taxonomy

It has traditionally included the more widespread '' S. opacus'' as a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

, but under the common name Paramo tapaculo (a name now used exclusively for ''S. opacus''). The two have different voices, leading to them being

split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

into separate species in 2010.

Distribution and habitat

The Paramillo tapaculo is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to humid highland scrub in the Cordillera Occidental 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 ...

. At present it is only known from Páramo de Paramillo and Páramo de Frontino (also known as Paramo del Sol). It may occur elsewhere in the Cordillera Occidental of Colombia. It is restricted to a narrow swath of

treeline The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snowp ...

vegetation (scrub, stunted trees and ''

Polylepis ''Polylepis'' is a genus comprising 28 recognised shrub and tree species, that are endemic to the mid- and high-elevation regions of the tropical Andes. This group is unique in the rose family in that it is predominantly wind-pollinated. They are ...

'' woodland) situated between

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

and

Páramo Páramo () can refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...

grasslands that is often just hundreds of meters wide.

Description

The Paramillo tapaculo resembles other ''

Scytalopus ''Scytalopus'' is a genus of small passerine birds belonging to the tapaculo group. They are found in South and Central America from Tierra del Fuego to Costa Rica, but are absent from the Amazon Basin. They inhabit dense vegetation at or near gr ...

'' tapaculos, being overall dark grey, but lacking the brown lower flanks of the Paramo tapaculo.

Status and conservation

Given the estimated extent of occurrence and observed decline in the extent and quality of habitat, the Paramillo tapaculo has an IUCN status of near threatened. While locally common, the estimated area of suitable habitat within the known range of the Paramillo tapaculo is 3 km² in total. Only 0.1 km² is effectively protected by the

Fundación ProAves Fundación ProAves is a nonprofit environmental organization in Colombia established in 1998. Its primary aims are to protects birds of conservation concern and their habitats across Colombia. ProAves has over 60 full-time professional staff. It ...

Colibri del Sol Bird Reserve Hummingbird of the Sun, known in Spanish as Colibri del Sol Bird Reserve, is a 731 ha nature reserve in Colombia. It lies at the base of the Páramo del Sol volcanic massif west of the city of Medellín in the Antioquia Department, Department o ...

(which also harbours the highly threatened

dusky starfrontlet The dusky starfrontlet (''Coeligena orina''), also known as glittering starfrontlet, is an Endangered species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is endemic to a few small areas in western Colombi ...

and Fenwick's antpitta). Páramo de Paramillo is a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

, but very poorly protected.

References

* Krabbe, N., & C. D. Cadena (2010). ''A taxonomic revision of the Paramo Tapaculo Scytalopus canus Chapman (Aves: Rhinocryptidae), with description of a new subspecies from Ecuador and Peru.'' Zootaxa 2354: 56–66. * Fundación ProAves (2010).
ProAves expedition solves Tapaculo mystery.
' Accessed 16 February 2010.

Paramillo tapaculo The Paramillo tapaculo (''Scytalopus canus'') is a species of bird in the family Rhinocryptidae. Taxonomy It has traditionally included the more widespread '' S. opacus'' as a subspecies, but under the common name Paramo tapaculo (a name now us ...

Birds of the Colombian Andes Endemic birds of Colombia Páramo fauna

{{Rhinocryptidae-stub