Tschudi’s Tapaculo (Scytalopus acutirostris)

Identification & Behavior: ~11.5 cm (4.5 in). The adult Tschudi’s Tapaculo is blackish with little rufous on the flanks.  The female may show more rufous and dusky fine barring on the flanks, vent, and rump. The juvenile is gray-brown with dusky barring. It has a relatively short tail that the bird often cocks.  It favors patches of bamboo but also forages in the understory of humid montane forests. 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. The Tschudi’s Tapaculo ranges at higher elevations than the very similar Trilling Tapaculo.

Status: Endemic. The Tschudi’s Tapaculo is uncommon to rare in montane forests of the east slope of the Andes at elevations ranging between 2500-3700 m.

Name in Spanish: Tapaculo de Tschudi.

Sub-species: Tschudi’s Tapaculo (Scytalopus acutirostris), (Tschudi), 1844.

Meaning of Name: Scytalopus: Gr. skutale or skutalon= stick, cudgel and pous, podos= foot. cutirostris: L. acutus sharp-pointed and rostris, rostrum= billed, beak.

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