- Long-tailed Tapaculo
 - Long-tailed Tapaculo
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Long-tailed Tapaculo Scytalopus micropterus Scientific name definitions

Niels Krabbe and Thomas S. Schulenberg
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2003

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Introduction

The Long-tailed Tapaculo is one of the larger species of the genus Scytalopus, and, compared to other species of Scytalopus, its tail is relatively long. Otherwise the Long-tailed Tapaculo has few distinctive morphological features: the plumage is drab, primarily dark gray with russet brown flanks that are barred with black. Like most other species of Andean tapaculos, the Long-tailed typically remains in dense cover, where it can be difficult to see, although its long, loud song is heard frequently. The song typically begins with a series of single notes, but quickly turns into a series of couplets. The Long-tailed Tapaculo occurs along the east slopes of the Andes from Colombia south to northern Peru, and, like other cloud forest tapaculos, forages on or near the ground for small invertebrates.

Field Identification

13·5 cm; male 27–32·5 g. A fairly large, dark grey tapaculo with barred brown flanks and long tail. Male is dark grey to blackish-grey above, lower back and rump dark brown with or without dark bars, tail blackish; some (younger?) birds have brown wash on nape, wing-coverts, edges of remiges and uppertail-coverts, and a black-bordered light brown subterminal bar on tertials; deep grey to dark grey below, sometimes (younger birds?) with light grey feather tips on upper belly; lower sides, flanks, lower belly and undertail-coverts tawny, distinctly barred blackish, bars on upper flanks wavy; iris dark brown; bill blackish grey-brown to black; tarsus dusky brown, somewhat lighter (dark horn-brown) on rear and inside. Female is duller than male, with slight tinge of drab brown in grey of back and anterior underparts, and sometimes more contrastingly barred flanks. Juvenile not described.

Systematics History

Formerly treated as a race of S. femoralis; these two are now regarded as sister-species. Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

Colombia in upper Magdalena Valley, and from Cundinamarca S on Amazonian slope to extreme N Peru (Cajamarca).

Habitat

Inhabits humid shrubby areas at forest edge and along streams, frequently in second growth, at 1250–2300 m; 1650–1950 m in N Peru. Replaced at lower elevations by S. atratus, but overlapping broadly with it; in zone of overlap, found in more microphyllous vegetation. Replaced sharply at higher levels by S. spillmanni; in far S of range, high-level replacement is S. parkeri.

Movement

Probably sedentary.

Diet and Foraging

Four stomachs contained “insects”, and one held “2 large grasshoppers”. Forages low in vegetation and on the ground.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Usual song of 2 upstroke notes, the second slightly shorter and higher-pitched, given for up to several minutes, sometimes starting with a few single notes at irregular intervals, then becoming evenly paced series of double notes (occasionally gives longer series of single notes), interval between the 2 notes varying from 0·2 to 0·5 seconds, pace of song from 1·4 to 2·3 per second (fastest after playback), pitch of notes 2·3–2·6 kHz (first overtone; fundamental audible). Alarm of similar quality, a decelerating, rapid series of 5–6 notes repeated at 1-second intervals, much like alarm of S. atratus from SW Venezuela but notes slightly lower-pitched and less sharp.

Breeding

Birds with active gonads collected in Sept and Nov; sings, and probably breeds, in all months. No other information.
Not globally threatened. Generally common and fairly widespread; fairly common in Ecuador; uncommon and local in Peru. Common in several protected areas. Readily observed in region of San Rafael Falls, in Ecuador. Relatively adaptable, and tolerates considerable disturbance.
Distribution of the Long-tailed Tapaculo - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Long-tailed Tapaculo

Recommended Citation

Krabbe, N. and T. S. Schulenberg (2020). Long-tailed Tapaculo (Scytalopus micropterus), 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.lottap1.01
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