TAPACULOS   -   RHINOCRYPTIDAE

Sandy Gallito Teledromas fuscus Los Cardones NP, Salta province, Argentina. A very plain bird endemic to highland deserts in northern Argentina. They are mostly terrestrial, but sing from the tops of small bushes for a short period at dawn.

Rusty-belted Tapaculo Liosceles thoracicus erithacus Shiripuno Lodge, Pastaza province, Ecuador. The only tapaculo of the Amazon region. They are typically found around fallen logs on the floor of primary forest.

Spillmann's Tapaculo Scytalopus spillmanni Upper Tandayapa Valley, Pichincha province, Ecuador. Tapaculos of the ever-growing genus Scytalopus are particularly hard to photograph. This is my only shot, a very recently fledged juvenile that was begging at the side of the road. Identified because it is the only Scytalopus occurring in that location at that elevation.

"Espinhaço Tapaculo" Scytalopus speluncae Chapada de Diamantina, Bahia state, Brazil. A recent paper (Zootaxa 1271: 37-56 (2006)) redescribed S. speluncae as only occurring in the Serra de Espinhaço range in interior Bahia and Minas Gerais, and gave birds formerly called S. speluncae, those occurring in the Serra do Mar, a new name: S. notorius. By range and voice (click to listen), the bird photographed here must be S. speluncae. The English name has not been agreed upon yet - it would be confusing for this form to keep the old name Mouse-colored Tapaculo, so I would prefer it to be called Espinhaço Tapaculo.

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