Tatamá Tapaculo

About the Tatamá Tapaculo

The Tatama tapaculo (Scytalopus alvarezlopezi) is a species of bird in the family Rhinocryptidae. It is endemic to western Colombia. Though the Tatama tapaculo was first discovered in 1992, it was not formally described until 2017. The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society accepted it as a new species in May 2019. The International Ornithological Committee followed suit in June 2019, and the Clements taxonomy in July 2019. Its closest relative is the El Oro tapaculo (Scytalopus robbinsi); those two species, Stiles's tapaculo (S. stilesi), and Magdalena tapaculo (S. rodriguezi) form a distinctive clade.

The specific epithet honors Colombian ornithologist Humberto Álvarez-López. The English name is taken from Cerro Tatamá, the highest peak in the mountains where the Tatama tapaculo lives. The Tatama tapaculo is almost entirely black, though the underparts are grayish black and the rump has a tinge of dark brown. The flanks and lower abdomen have indistinct bars. Its overall length is about 12 cm (4.7 in) and two males weighed 24.0 and 25.4 g (0.85 and 0.90 oz).

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