Pale-bellied Tapaculo

About the Pale-bellied Tapaculo

The pale-bellied tapaculo (Scytalopus griseicollis), also known as the matorral tapaculo or rufous-rumped tapaculo, is a species of bird in the family Rhinocryptidae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela. The pale-bellied tapaculo has three recognized subspecies, the nominate Scytalopus griseicollis griseicollis, S. griseicollis gilesi, and S. griseicollis morenoi. The last of these was not described until 2015. Pale-bellied tapaculo was formerly considered a subspecies of Magellanic tapaculo (S. magellanicus). The putative Scytalopus infasciatus has been variously proposed as a subspecies of pale-bellied or brown-rumped (S. latebricola) tapaculos, as a synonym for Merida tapaculo (S. meridanus), and as a species in its own right ("Cundinamarca tapaculo"). As of 2021, it is considered "inseparable from the nominate" pale-bellied.

The pale-bellied tapaculo is 10 to 11.5 cm (3.9 to 4.5 in) long. The nominate subspecies weighs 16.6 to 19.3 g (0.59 to 0.68 oz). One male S. g. morenoi weighed 17 g (0.60 oz) and two male S. g. gilesi 17.5 and 18 g (0.62 and 0.63 oz). The nominate adult is mostly gray, lighter on the underside. Its back... Wikipedia →