Paramo tapaculo

The Paramo tapaculo (Scytalopus opacus) is a species of bird in the family Rhinocryptidae. It is found at altitudes of 2,600 to 4,000 metres (8,500 to 13,100 ft) in the Andes of northern Peru, Ecuador and southern Colombia (Cordillera Central). It has traditionally been treated as a subspecies of S. canus, but the two have different voices, leading to them being split into separate species in 2010.

Paramo tapaculo
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Rhinocryptidae
Genus: Scytalopus
Species:
S. opacus
Binomial name
Scytalopus opacus
Synonyms

Scytalopus canus opacus

The Paramo tapaculo resembles other Scytalopus tapaculos, being overall dark grey with brown to the lower flanks. Females are dull brown above. The subspecies androstictus was described in 2010 from southeastern Ecuador and northern Peru. Unlike the nominate subspecies, most male androstictus have white to the primary coverts. If following the phylogenetic species concept, androstictus would be a separate species, but under the biological species concept it "only" qualifies as a subspecies.

As the Paramo tapaculo generally is common to fairly common and occurs in several protected areas, it is unlikely to be threatened.

References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Scytalopus opaca". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Krabbe, N., & C. D. Cadena (2010). A taxonomic revision of the Paramo Tapaculo Scytalopus canus Chapman (Aves: Rhinocryptidae), with description of a new subspecies from Ecuador and Peru. Zootaxa 2354: 56–66.


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