Birds of the World

    PASSERIFORMES: Rhinocryptidae (Tapaculos)  
Genus: Scytalopus (49 species)

Genus Scytalopus, Tapaculos, are small black or grey insect-eating birds found in thick brush in the forest understory, and very rarely seen. Most tapaculos in this genus are so similar that they can only be identified by voice, usually a long repeating call.


Tschudi's Tapaculo
Tschudi's Tapaculo (Scytalopus acutirostris)
Range: SA: c Peru
Unchog, Peru  
   
Photograph by Bradley Hacker   © All Rights Reserved.


Ancash Tapaculo
Ancash Tapaculo (Scytalopus affinis)
Range: SA: w Peru
Huanzala, Peru  
   
Photograph by Bradley Hacker   © All Rights Reserved.


Neblina Tapaculo
Neblina Tapaculo (Scytalopus altirostris)
Range: SA: n Peru (s Amazonas and San Martín)
Unchog, Peru  
   
Photograph by Bradley Hacker   © All Rights Reserved.


Tatama Tapaculo
Tatama Tapaculo (Scytalopus alvarezlopezi) Immature Near Threatened
Range: SA: w Colombia
ProAves Tangaras Reserve, El Carmen de Atrato, Choco, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

A newly described species found in a narrow rainy corridor at around 1600m. Compare to Stiles's Tapaculo found on the other side of the Cauca Valley.

Loja Tapaculo
Loja Tapaculo (Scytalopus androstictus)
Range: SA: se Ecuador and n Peru
Cerro Toledo, Loja, Ecuador  
   
Photograph by Tropical Birding (Nick Athanas)   © All Rights Reserved.

Split from the Paramo Tapaculo in 2020 and found south from Loja, Ecuador to north Peru.

Silvery-fronted Tapaculo
Silvery-fronted Tapaculo (Scytalopus argentifrons argentifrons)
Range: MA: Costa Rica and Panama
Monserrat, Coronado, Costa Rica
  Except for the Panama/Colombia border, the only central American tapaculo. Tapaculos stay in brush near the ground and are blackish like rats.
   
Photograph by Jorge Obando Gutierrez   © Copyrighted, All Rights Reserved.


White-crowned Tapaculo
White-crowned Tapaculo (Scytalopus atratus)
Range: SA: w Venezuela to c Peru
ProAves Chestnut-capped Piha Reserve, Anorí, Antioquia, Colombia
  White crown (really just a spot) barely visible in this photo.
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

A tiny bit less secretive than most tapaculos. Found from 1000-2000m in Andean forests.

Bolivian Tapaculo
Bolivian Tapaculo (Scytalopus bolivianus)
Range: SA: se Peru to s Bolivia
Refugio los Volcanes, Bolivia  
   
Photograph by Bradley Hacker   © All Rights Reserved.


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Paramillo Tapaculo (Scytalopus canus) Near Threatened
Range: SA: w Colombia
   


Split from the Paramo Tapaculo. Found only near the paramo of Urrao.

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Caracas Tapaculo (Scytalopus caracae)
Range: SA: n Venezuela
   




Choco Tapaculo
Choco Tapaculo (Scytalopus chocoensis)
Range: MA, SA: e Panama to nw Ecuador
Queremal, Valle del Cauca, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Bad side shot.

Diamantina Tapaculo
Diamantina Tapaculo (Scytalopus diamantinensis) Endangered
Range: SA: ne Brazil
Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil  
   
Photograph by Ciro Albano - NE Brazil Birding   © All Rights Reserved.


Rufous-vented Tapaculo
Rufous-vented Tapaculo (Scytalopus femoralis)
Range: SA: c Peru
Abra Patricia, Peru  
   
Photograph by Bruno Conjeaud   © All Rights Reserved.


Jalca Tapaculo
Jalca Tapaculo (Scytalopus frankeae)
Range: SA: c Peru (Huanuco to Junin)
Carretera Satipo, Peru  
   
Photograph by Bradley Hacker   © All Rights Reserved.

Described in 2020, and known from two geographically separate populations: the northern population is known from three areas in Huanuco and Pasco; the southern population is found in Junin (sci-news.com).

Dusky Tapaculo
Dusky Tapaculo (Scytalopus fuscus)
Range: SA: c Chile
Quebrada de Cordova, Valparaíso, Chile  
   
Photograph by Tropical Birding (Nick Athanas)   © All Rights Reserved.


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Junin Tapaculo (Scytalopus gettyae) Near Threatened
Range: SA: c Peru
   



Boa Nova Tapaculo
Boa Nova Tapaculo (Scytalopus gonzagai) Endangered
Range: SA: se Brazil
Boa Nova, Brazil  
   
Photograph by Ciro Albano - NE Brazil Birding   © All Rights Reserved.


Pale-bellied Tapaculo
Pale-bellied Tapaculo (Scytalopus griseicollis griseicollis)
Range: SA: nc, c Colombia and w Venezuela
Chingaza National Park, Colombia
  Note pale belly. As with almost all tapaculos, difficult to see well.
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


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Utcubamba Tapaculo (Scytalopus intermedius)
Range: SA: nc Peru
   


Split from the Blackish Tapaculo in 2020, and found in an isolated mountain range in north Peru

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Marsh Tapaculo (Scytalopus iraiensis) Endangered
Range: SA: s Brazil
   



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White-winged Tapaculo (Scytalopus krabbei)
Range: SA: nc Peru (n Amazonas to Huánuco)
 


Described in 2020. Found in five localities in three widely separated areas in the Central Andes of north-central Peru (sci-news.com). It inhabits wet shrub forest and upper montane forest at around 3000m. Note two or three white wing patches on primary coverts.

Brown-rumped Tapaculo
Brown-rumped Tapaculo (Scytalopus latebricola) Near Threatened
Range: SA: n Colombia
Colombia  
   
Photograph by Terry S. Baltimore   © All Rights Reserved.

Found over 2000m in the Santa Marta Sierra Nevada.

Blackish Tapaculo
Blackish Tapaculo (Scytalopus latrans latrans)
Range: SA: Colombia to Peru
San Sebastian Reserve, Envigado, Antioquia, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Commonly heard around 2000-3000m and with a slower more bird-like call than many other tapaculos.

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Large-footed Tapaculo (Scytalopus macropus)
Range: SA: Peru
   



Magellanic Tapaculo
Magellanic Tapaculo (Scytalopus magellanicus)
Range: SA: c, s Chile and w Argentina
Mendoza, Argentina  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Found at around 2500 meters above sea level along small rocky streams.

Merida Tapaculo
Merida Tapaculo (Scytalopus meridanus)
Range: SA: nw Venezuela
Colonia Tovar, Venezuela  
   
Photograph by Margareta Wieser   © All Rights Reserved.


Long-tailed Tapaculo
Long-tailed Tapaculo (Scytalopus micropterus)
Range: SA: Colombia to n Peru
San Isidro, Ecuador  
   
Photograph by Francesco Veronesi     Copyright and usage info


Brasilia Tapaculo
Brasilia Tapaculo (Scytalopus novacapitalis) Endangered
Range: SA: s Brazil
FLONA de Brasília, Brazil  
   
Photograph by Ciro Albano - NE Brazil Birding   © All Rights Reserved.


Paramo Tapaculo
Paramo Tapaculo (Scytalopus opacus)
Range: SA: c Colombia to sc Ecuador
Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


Planalto Tapaculo
Planalto Tapaculo (Scytalopus pachecoi)
Range: SA: s Brazil and ne Argentina
Urupema, Brazil  
   
Photograph by Rodrigo Conte   © All Rights Reserved.

Often found near streams (Conte).

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Tacarcuna Tapaculo (Scytalopus panamensis) Near Threatened
Range: MA, SA: e Panama and nw Colombia
   



Chusquea Tapaculo
Chusquea Tapaculo (Scytalopus parkeri)
Range: SA: s Ecuador and n Peru
Tapichalaca Reserve, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador  
   
Photograph by Tropical Birding (Nick Athanas)   © All Rights Reserved.


Trilling Tapaculo
Trilling Tapaculo (Scytalopus parvirostris)
Range: SA: nc Peru to ec Bolivia
Siberia, Bolivia  
   
Photograph by Bradley Hacker   © All Rights Reserved.


Perija Tapaculo
Perija Tapaculo (Scytalopus perijanus) Near Threatened
Range: SA: Perijá Mts. (ne Colombia and Venezuela)
Colombia  
   
Photograph by Andres Cuervo     Copyright and usage info

A newly described species, found in the Perija mountain range.

Rock Tapaculo
Rock Tapaculo (Scytalopus petrophilus)
Range: SA: se Brazil
Serra do Cipó, Minas Gerais, Brazil  
   
Photograph by João Sérgio Barros F. de Souza   © All Rights Reserved.


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El Oro Tapaculo (Scytalopus robbinsi) Endangered
Range: SA: sw Ecuador
   



Magdalena Tapaculo
Magdalena Tapaculo (Scytalopus rodriguezi yariguiorum) Endangered
Range: SA: c Colombia
ProAves Cerulean Warbler Reserve, San Vicente de Chucuri, Santander, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


Santa Marta Tapaculo
Santa Marta Tapaculo (Scytalopus sanctaemartae) Near Threatened
Range: SA: n Colombia
Santa Marta Sierra Nevada, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Sebastian Ballesteros Caro   © All Rights Reserved.

Found at lower altitudes, around 1500m, than the Brown-rumped Tapaculo, Note white spot on top of head.

Diademed Tapaculo
Diademed Tapaculo (Scytalopus schulenbergi)
Range: SA: se Peru to c Bolivia
Abra Malaga, Cuzco, Peru  
   
Photograph by Jon Irvine   © All Rights Reserved.


Puna Tapaculo
Puna Tapaculo (Scytalopus simonsi)
Range: SA: se Peru to c Bolivia
La Cumbre, Bolivia  
   
Photograph by Bradley Hacker   © All Rights Reserved.


Mouse-colored Tapaculo
Mouse-colored Tapaculo (Scytalopus speluncae)
Range: SA: se Brazil
Serra dos Tucanos Lodge, Brazil  
   
Photograph by Nigel Voaden   © All Rights Reserved.


Spillmann's Tapaculo
Spillmann's Tapaculo (Scytalopus spillmanni)
Range: SA: Colombia to Ecuador
ProAves Dusky Starfrontlet Reserve, Urrao, Antioquia, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Note long continuous call compared to the choppy Ash-colored Tapaculo. May have more rufous on flanks than other species. Found in forests from 2500m up to the paramo.

Stiles's Tapaculo
Stiles's Tapaculo (Scytalopus stilesi)
Range: SA: c Colombia
La Romera, Itagui, Antioquia, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Found around 1200-2400m in a few locations in the western Andes of Colombia, but common in those locations. For me this species sounds a lot like the other Colombian endemic on the other side of the Cauca Valley, the Tatama Tapaculo, and I wonder if they are the same species.
Side view.

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White-browed Tapaculo (Scytalopus superciliaris)
Range: SA: nw Argentina
   



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Unicolored Tapaculo (Scytalopus unicolor) Near Threatened
Range: SA: wc Peru
   



Vilcabamba Tapaculo
Vilcabamba Tapaculo (Scytalopus urubambae)
Range: SA: ec Peru
Soraypampa, Cuzco, Peru  
   
Photograph by Jon Irvine   © All Rights Reserved.


Narino Tapaculo
Narino Tapaculo (Scytalopus vicinior)
Range: SA: w Colombia to c Ecuador
ProAves Tangaras Reserve, El Carmen de Atrato, Choco, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Narino Tapaculo
Narino Tapaculo (Scytalopus vicinior) Immature
Range: SA: w Colombia to c Ecuador
ProAves Tangaras Reserve, El Carmen de Atrato, Choco, Colombia
  Typical coloration for an immature tapaculo.
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


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Ampay Tapaculo (Scytalopus whitneyi)
Range: SA: s Peru (Ayacucho and Apurímac)
   


A species described in 2020 and found in the Ampay National Sanctuary.

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Zimmer's Tapaculo (Scytalopus zimmeri)
Range: SA: s Bolivia and nw Argentina
   




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