Ecuadorian Tapaculo

Taxobox
name = Ecuadorian Tapaculo
status = EN | status_system = IUCN3.1
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Passeriformes
familia = Formicariidae
genus = "Scytalopus"
species = "S. robbinsi"
binomial = "Scytalopus robbinsi"
binomial_authority = Krabbe & Schulenberg, 1997

The Ecuadorian Tapaculo or El Oro Tapaculo ("Scytalopus robbinsi") is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus "Scytalopus", a genus of tapaculos. It is restricted to a small area of southern Ecuador and was not described until 1997.

It is a small tapaculo, 11 centimetres long. The bill is black and fairly heavy. The plumage is grey with a brown nape and rump and brown barring on the flanks. The tail is blackish. The female's underparts are browner than those of the male. The song is a series of double-notes repeated for about a minute.

The bird inhabits the undergrowth of humid forest between 700 and 1250 metres above sea-level in El Oro Province and Azuay Province. Its population is believed to be small and declining. It is threatened by the loss, degradation and fragmentation of its habitat and is classified as an endangered species by the IUCN. Part of its range lies within the protected Buenaventura Reserve.

References

*aut|BirdLife International (2007) [http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=31992&m=0 Species factsheet: "Scytalopus robbinsi".] Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 15/8/2007.