Product Code Database
Example Keywords: tie -hair $20-188
   » » Wiki: Tapaculo
Tag Wiki 'Tapaculo'.
Tag

The tapaculos or tapacolos

(2025). 9780550101051, Chambers.
are a family, Rhinocryptidae, of small birds, found mainly in and with the highest diversity in the regions. Three species (Chocó, Tacarcuna, and the silvery-fronted) are found in southern .


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 for loincloth. Another possible explanation is that it originates from the name for the white-throated tapaculo, simply tapaculo, which is an 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 , and will scratch on the ground like a .

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 ( S. iraiensis, S. rodriguezi and S. robbinsi), and two species critically endangered ( and Merulaxis stresemanni). The two critically endangered species are restricted to of eastern Brazil, and were only recently rediscovered after several years without any records.


Taxonomy
The tapaculos were traditionally placed in a distinct family Rhinocryptidae; more recent research indicates that according to analysis of and data, the tapaculos might be better merged into the as tribe Rhinocryptini, as they are closer to the antthrushes than either is to the true .

An alternative family name Pteroptochidae, has been used historically.

The phylogenetic tree shown below is based on a large-scale genetic study of the by Michael Harvey and collaborators that was published in 2020. A high resolution version of the phylogenetic tree in Figure 1 is available from the first author's website here. The species numbers are from the list maintained by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC).

The species-limits within the genus have historically been difficult to determine. The birds are highly , and identification using visual features often is impossible. Vocal and 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 ). 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, while the figure now is more than four times as high.


Cited sources

External links

Page 1 of 1
1
Page 1 of 1
1

Account

Social:
Pages:  ..   .. 
Items:  .. 

Navigation

General: Atom Feed Atom Feed  .. 
Help:  ..   .. 
Category:  ..   .. 
Media:  ..   .. 
Posts:  ..   ..   .. 

Statistics

Page:  .. 
Summary:  .. 
1 Tags
10/10 Page Rank
5 Page Refs
1s Time