Diademed Tapaculo (Scytalopus schulenbergi)

Identification & Behavior: ~11 cm (4.3  in). The adult Diademed Tapaculo is gray with a variable amount of rufous on the flanks and rump and whitish on the forehead.  The female is similar but has more rufous. The juvenile is brown with dusky barring throughout. The tail is short and often kept cocked.  It forages on or near the ground in humid montane forests, humid montane scrub, and Polylepis woodlands. Due to their secretive habits, extreme similarity among species and the generally low light in the places they inhabit, positive identification of a tapaculo in the field is often impossible. However, their loud and stereotyped songs and calls are given frequently and constitute the safest way to identify them to the species level. It is very similar to the Puna Tapaculo but appears to have less rufous on the flanks and rump and lacks the.

Status: The Diademed Tapaculo is uncommon in humid montane forests and adjacent humid scrub mixed with bunch grass on the east slope of the Andes. It ranges at elevations between 2750-3400 m. The Diademed Tapaculo also occurs in Bo.

Name in Spanish: Tapaculo Diademado.

Sub-species: Diademed Tapaculo (Scytalopus schulenbergi), Whitney, 1994.

Meaning of Name: Scytalopus: Gr. skutale or skutalon= stick, cudgel and pous, podos= foot. schulenbergi: In honor of Dr. Thomas S. Schulenberg (b. 1954) US ornithologist, collector.

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