Chusquea Tapaculo Scytalopus parkeri Scientific name definitions

The Chusquea Tapaculo is a medium-sized, long-winged tapaculo with a brown tail and brown, more or less dark-barred flanks, and occurs from southern Ecuador to northernmost Peru.  Its exact northern limit has not been identified, but somewhere in Ecuador's Azuay and Morona-Santiago provinces the species is replaced by the closely related Spillmann's Tapaculo (S. spillmanni).  Chusquea Tapaculo haunts dense patches of Chusquea bamboo and adjacent humid forest undergrowth at 2250-3350 m. Little is known of its diet and foraging behavior but observations suggest it predominantly feeds on arthropods captured while foraging in low bamboo tangles and on the ground.

The nest of Chusquea Tapaculo has only recently been described and is a domed mossy nest built inside a natural earthen cavity.  Complete clutches are comprised of two white eggs.  Both adults participate in all aspects of building the nest and caring for the brood.