Tapaculo

The tapaculos or tapacolos are a family, Rhinocryptidae, of small suboscine passerine birds, found mainly in South America and with the highest diversity in the Andean regions. Three species ( Chocó, Tacarcuna, and the silvery-fronted) are found in southern Central America.

Description

Tapaculos are small to medium-sized birds, with a total length ranging from 10–24 cm (4–9½ in). These are terrestrial species that fly only poorly on their short wings. They have strong legs, well-suited to their habitat of grassland or forest undergrowth. The tail is cocked and pointed towards the head, and the name ''tapaculo'' probably derives from Spanish for loincloth (literally "cover your behind" --because it ought to). Another possible explanation is that it originates from the Chilean name for the white-throated tapaculo, simply ''tapaculo'', which is an onomatopoeic reference to its commonly heard song.

While the majority of the family are small blackish or brown birds there are some larger and more colourful species. All tapaculos are skulking birds that frequently stay low in dense vegetation, even the larger, colorful species, and this renders them difficult to see. They are best located and – in the case of ''Scytalopus'' spp. – identified by their vocalisations.

They feed on insects, seeds and other soft plant material with their pointed bills, and will scratch on the ground like a pheasant.

Most species lay two or three white eggs in a covered location, whether it be a burrow, a hole in a tree, or a domed nest.

Status and conservation

Some species have highly localized distributions and, being poor fliers, they easily become isolated in small populations. BirdLife International currently (2007) consider one species vulnerable (''Scytalopus panamensis''), three species endangered ( ''S. iraiensis'', '' S. rodriguezi'' and '' S. robbinsi''), and two species critically endangered ( ''Eleoscytalopus psychopompus'' and '' Merulaxis stresemanni''). The two critically endangered species are restricted to Atlantic forest of eastern Brazil, and were only recently rediscovered after several years without any records.

Systematics

The tapaculos were traditionally placed in a distinct family Rhinocryptidae; more recent research (Irestedt ''et al.'' 2002, Rice 2005a,b) indicates that according to analysis of mt and nDNA sequence data, the tapaculos might be better merged into the Formicariidae as tribe Rhinocryptini, as they are closer to the antthrushes than either is to the true antpittas.

Alternatively, the latter might be raised to family status. In this case, it would be possible to maintain the tapaculos as a separate family too, but it would seem altogether more warranted to consider them a subfamily of the Formicariinae ''sensu stricto'', which would be called Rhinocryptinae.

Whether this latter approach, the placement as a tribe in a tapaculo-antthrush Formicariinae subfamily, or maintenance as a separate family is to be preferred depends on whether the true antpittas are closer to the tapaculos and true antbirds, or rather to the ''Pittasoma'' "gnatthrushes" and other gnateaters and the true antbirds. There are some, albeit very tentative, indications that the latter may indeed be the case, which would be reflected in the placement of the tapaculos as subfamily Rhinocryptinae, with the Formicariinae being restricted to the true antthrushes (Rice 2005a). Today, the tapaculos continue in the Rhinocryptidae until the systematics can be further defined.

Apparently not ''all'' tapaculo genera would have to be moved to the formicariids (Irestedt ''et al.'' 2002). As the type genus ''Rhinocrypta'' certainly would, any distinct genera (such as the peculiar crescent-chests) would need a new family name.

An alternative family name Pteroptochidae, has been used historically.HBW vol 8, page 748

Taxonomy of ''Scytalopus''

The species-limits within the genus ''Scytalopus'' is among the most complex matters in Neotropical ornithology. They are highly cryptic, and identification using visual features often is impossible. Vocal and biochemical data is typically needed to clarify the taxonomic status of the various populations. Several new species have been described in recent years (e.g. ''S. whitneyi'' and ''S. frankeae'' from Peru). The Brazilian taxa are similarly complex with several recently described species and considerable confusion surrounding the use of the scientific name '' Scytalopus speluncae''.

Additionally, still undescribed species are known to exist, while some species as currently defined actually may include several species (e.g. the southern population of the large-footed tapaculo may represent a yet undescribed species). The confusing situation is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that only ten species were recognized in this genus in 1970 (Krabbe & Schulenberg, 2003), while the figure now is more than four times as high.

Species list

For a complete list of the tapaculos recognized by the International Ornithological Congress, see the article " List of tapaculo species".

Genera allied with antthrushes
*Genus '' Pteroptochos'', the huet-huets
** Black-throated huet-huet, ''Pteroptochos tarnii''
** Chestnut-throated huet-huet, ''Pteroptochos castaneus''
** Moustached turca, ''Pteroptochos megapodius''
*Genus ''Scytalopus'' (some 40-45 species)
*Genus ''Scelorchilus''Placement here needs confirmation.
** White-throated tapaculo, ''Scelorchilus albicollis''
** Chucao tapaculo, ''Scelorchilus rubecula''
*Genus ''Rhinocrypta''
** Crested gallito, ''Rhinocrypta lanceolata''
*Genus '' Liosceles''
** Rusty-belted tapaculo, ''Liosceles thoracicus''

Placement unresolved
*Genus '' Psilorhamphus''
** Spotted bamboowren, ''Psilorhamphus guttatus''
*Genus '' Merulaxis'', the bristlefronts
** Slaty bristlefront, ''Merulaxis ater''
** Stresemann's bristlefront, ''Merulaxis stresemanni''
*Genus '' Eleoscytalopus'' (formerly in ''Scytalopus'')
** White-breasted tapaculo, ''Eleoscytalopus indigoticus''
** Bahia tapaculo, ''Eleoscytalopus psychopompus''
*Genus '' Eugralla''
** Ochre-flanked tapaculo, ''Eugralla paradoxa''
*Genus '' Myornis''
** Ash-colored tapaculo, ''Myornis senilis''
*Genus '' Acropternis''
** Ocellated tapaculo, ''Acropternis orthonyx''

References

* Correa, Alejandro, Mpodozis, Jorge & Sallaberry, Michel. (2014): Chilean Rhinocryptidae (Avian):speciation. Impressum/Imprint OmniScriptum GmbH & CoKG. Verlag/publisher: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing. Printed in Germany. All right reserved Saarbrücken. .
* Correa, Alejandro (2009): Biological similarities between Chilean Tapaculos. Impressum/Imprint (nur für Deutschland/only for Germany) Publisher VDM Verlag.Printed in the USA. Printed in the UK. All right reserved Saarbrücken. .
* Irestedt, Martin; Fjeldså, Jon; Johansson, Ulf S. & Ericson, Per G.P. (2002): Systematic relationships and biogeography of the tracheophone suboscines (Aves: Passeriformes). ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 23(3): 499–512. (HTML abstract)
* Krabbe, N, and Schulenberg, T. (2003). Family Rhinocryptidae (Tapaculos). pp. 748–787 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., and Christie, D. eds. (2003). ''Handbook of Birds of the World.'' Vol. 8. Broadbills to Tapaculos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
* Maurício, G, (2005). ''Taxonomy of the southern population in the Scytalopus speluncae group, with the description of a new species and remarks on the systematics and biogeography of the complex (Passeriformes: Rhinocryptidae).'' Ararajuba. 13(1): 7-28.
* Raposo, M., Stopiglia, R., Loskit, V., and Kirwin, G. (2006). ''The correct use of the name Scytalopus speluncae (Ménétriés, 1835), and the description of a new species of Brazilian tapaculo (Aves: Passeriformers: Rhinocryptidae).'' Zootaxa 1271: 37–56.
* Rice, Nathan H. (2005a): Phylogenetic relationships of antpitta genera (Passeriformes: Formicariidae). ''Auk'' 122(2): 673–683. nglish with Spanish abstract DOI:10.1642/0004-8038(2005)122 673:PROAGP.0.CO;2PDF fulltext
* Rice, Nathan H. (2005b): Further Evidence for Paraphyly of the Formicariidae (Passeriformes). ''Condor'' 107(4): 910–915. nglish with Spanish abstractPDF fulltext


BirdLife International (2007).
* Comitê Brasileiro de Registros Ornitológicos: ttp://www.cbro.org.br/CBRO/ List of Birds in Brazil

Footnotes

External links

Tapaculo videos
on the Internet Bird Collection

{{Taxonbar, from=Q390189

Formicariidae
Higher-level bird taxa restricted to the Neotropics
*
Taxa named by Alexander Wetmore