Scytalopus

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Scytalopus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Formicariidae
Genus: Scytalopus
Gould, 1837
Species

Some 40-45, see list

Scytalopus is a genus of small passerine birds belonging to the tapaculo group. They are found in South and Central America from Tierra del Fuego to Costa Rica, but are absent from the Amazon Basin. They inhabit dense vegetation at or near ground-level and are mainly found in mountainous regions, particularly the Andes. They can be very difficult to see as they run through the undergrowth in a mouse-like fashion.

Contents

[edit] Description

They are plump with short tails that often are held cocked. Depending on species, the total length is 10-14 cm (4-5½ in). Their plumage is blackish or grey. Several species have brown bellies, rumps or flanks; often with some barring. A few have white crowns or eye-brows. Juveniles of most species are browner and have barred flanks. Many species are essentially impossible to separate by their plumage, but songs and calls are often distinctive and important for species identification.

[edit] Behavior

Their diet consists mainly of insects. Little is known about the breeding habits of most species but the eggs are usually white and the nest is usually ball-shaped and made of plant material such as root-fibres and mosses. It is built in a cavity in sites such as earth banks or among the roots or bark of trees.

[edit] Taxonomy

The species-limits within this genus 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. stilesi and S. rodriguezi from Colombia). Maurício (2005) found that the otherwise relatively well known S. speluncae actually consisted of two species, of which the southern was described as a new species; S. pachecoi, while the northern retained S. speluncae. It was further suggested that S. speluncae included yet another undescribed species, but more work was needed on that matter. Furthermore, work by Raposo et al. (2006) cast doubt into the use of the scientific name S. speluncae for the Mouse-colored Tapaculo. Examining the type specimen of S. speluncae (Ménétriés, 1835) resulted in them attributing this to a population previously included within S. novacapitalis (vocally, this population is closer to S. pachecoi). This meant that the Mouse-colored Tapaculo had to receive a new name; S. notorius ("notorius" to illustrate its problematic taxonomical history). CBRO (Comitê Brasileiro de Registros Ornitológicos) has recommended moving both the scientific and the English name to the "new" inland species, which then would become the Mouse-coloured Tapaculo (S. speluncae), while the species previously known under that name would become the Serra do Mar Tapaculo (S. notorius). Alternatively, it has been suggested keeping the common name Mouse-coloured Tapaculo for S. notorius, instead naming S. speluncae the Espinhaço Tapaculo. As all Scytalopus tapaculos are "mouse-coloured" and the use of the old English name potentially can cause additional confusion, it is arguably better to use the locality based names, with S. speluncae being the Espinhaço Tapaculo and S. notorius being the Serra do Mar Tapaculo. Additionally, still undescribed species are known to exist (e.g. the "Apurimac Tapaculo" and "Millpo Tapaculo"; both from Peru), while some species as currently defined actually may include several species (e.g. the southern population of the Large-footed Tapaculo may represent an undescribed species). The confusing situation is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that only 10 species were recognized in this genus in 1970 (Krabbe & Schulenberg, 2003), while the figure now is more than four times as high.

[edit] 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 one species critically endangered (S. psychopompus). The last of these is restricted to Atlantic forest of eastern Brazil, and was only recently rediscovered after several years without any records.

[edit] Species list

[edit] References