The Ecuadorian tapaculo or El Oro tapaculo (''Scytalopus robbinsi'') is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus ''

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 ...

'', a genus of tapaculos. It is restricted to a small area in south-western Ecuador and was not described until 1997. It is a small tapaculo, 11 centimetres long. The

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

is black and fairly heavy. The

plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

is grey with a brown nape and rump and brown barring on the flanks. The tail is blackish. The female's underparts are browner than those of the male. The song is a series of double-notes repeated for about a minute. The bird inhabits the undergrowth of humid forest between 700 and 1250 metres above sea-level on the Andean slope in

El Oro Province El Oro (; ''oro'' = gold) is the southernmost of Ecuador's coastal provinces. It was named for its historically important gold production. Today it is one of the world's major exporters of bananas. The capital is Machala. History The area was ...

, Guayas Province and Cañar Province and undoubtedly in the intervening Azuay Province.Krabbe, N. & 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, J. V. d.Studies in Neotropical ornithology honoring Ted Parker. Ornithological Monographs 48. Its population is believed to be small and declining. It is threatened by the loss, degradation and fragmentation of its habitat and is classified as an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

by 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 ...

. Part of its range lies within the protected Buenaventura Reserve.

References

* *BirdLife International (2007
Species factsheet: ''Scytalopus robbinsi''.
ownloaded from on 15/8/2007. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1271514 El Oro tapaculo Birds of the Ecuadorian Andes Endemic birds of Ecuador El Oro tapaculo El Oro tapaculo