The Paramo tapaculo (''Scytalopus opacus'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

in the family Rhinocryptidae. It is found in the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

and southern Colombia.

Taxonomy and systematics

The Paramo tapaculo was originally described as a subspecies of

Magellanic tapaculo The Magellanic tapaculo (''Scytalopus magellanicus'') is a small passerine bird of southern South America. It belongs to the genus ''Scytalopus'', a genus of tapaculos. Taxonomy The species was often known as the Andean tapaculo in the past and ...

(''Scytalopus magellanicus'') and then as a subspecies of

paramillo tapaculo The Paramillo tapaculo (''Scytalopus canus'') is a species of bird in the family Rhinocryptidae. Taxonomy It has traditionally included the more widespread '' S. opacus'' as a subspecies, but under the common name Paramo tapaculo (a name now u ...

(''S. canus''). Krabbe and Cadena (2010) showed that they have very different voices. Based on that data, The South American Classification Committee (SACC) of the American Ornithologists' Union (now the American Ornithological Society, AOS) elevated it to species rank and the

International Ornithological Congress International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

(IOC) and

Clements taxonomy ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'' is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world. The most recent printed version is the sixth edition (2007), but has been updated yearly, the last version in 202 ...

followed suit.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 19 January 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved January 19, 2021del Hoyo, J., N. Collar, and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Paramo Tapaculo (Scytalopus opacus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.partap2.01 retrieved April 23, 2021Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 15, 2019 The Paramo tapaculo is

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic ...

. The former subspecies ''S. o. androstictus'' was elevated by the SACC to species status as the Loja tapaculo in July 2020 and by the IOC in January 2021.Niels K Krabbe, Thomas S Schulenberg, Peter A Hosner, Kenneth V Rosenberg, Tristan J Davis, Gary H Rosenberg, Daniel F Lane, Michael J Andersen, Mark B Robbins, Carlos Daniel Cadena, Thomas Valqui, Jessie F Salter, Andrew J Spencer, Fernando Angulo, Jon Fjeldså, Untangling cryptic diversity in the High Andes: Revision of the ''Scytalopus'' 'magellanicus''complex (Rhinocryptidae) in Peru reveals three new species, The Auk, Volume 137, Issue 2, 1 April 2020, ukaa003, https://doi.org/10.1093/auk/ukaa003 retrieved April 22, 2021

Description

The Paramo tapaculo resembles other ''

Scytalopus ''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 gr ...

'' tapaculos. It is approximately long. Males weigh and females . Males are very dark gray above and medium to dark gray on most of the underside. The flanks and vent area are tawny to dark brown with darker barring. The female is brown above and pale to medium gray on most of the underside. Like the male it has brownish flanks and vent area. The juveniles are highly variable, but generally have shades of brown and barring above and shades of gray and buff below with or without barring.

Distribution and habitat

The Paramo tapaculo ranges the central

from southern Colombia to south-central Ecuador. It generally inhabits shrub and scrublands at and above treeline but can also be found in ''

Polylepis ''Polylepis'' is a genus comprising 28 recognised shrub and tree species, that are endemic to the mid- and high-elevation regions of the tropical Andes. This group is unique in the rose family in that it is predominantly wind-pollinated. They are ...

'' woodland and high elevation humid forest. Its elevation range is typically between . It is believed to be sedentary.

Behavior

The Paramo tapaculo forages on and near the ground for small

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

s and occasionally for berries. Little is known about the Paramo tapaculo's breeding

phenology Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples include the date of emergence of leav ...

. Females with brood patches and juveniles have been collected in March, May, and November.

Status

The IUCN has rated the Paramo tapaculo as being of Least Concern. Its range spans approximately 188,000 km² (72,600 mi²). Its population has not been determined but is believed to be stable. The species is fairly common and it occurs in several protected areas in both Colombia and Ecuador.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1267260 Paramo tapaculo Birds of the Colombian Andes Birds of the Ecuadorian Andes Páramo fauna Paramo tapaculo Paramo tapaculo Taxonomy articles created by Polbot