White-crowned tapaculo
The white-crowned tapaculo is a species of bird in the family Rhinocryptidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
Taxonomy and systematics
The white-crowned tapaculo was formerly considered a subspecies of rufous-vented tapaculo but was separated based principally on differences in their vocalizations.Three subspecies of northern white-crowned tapaculo are recognized, the nominate Scytalopus atratus atratus, S. a. nigricans, and S. a. confusus. However, the vocalizations of birds of the eastern Andes differ from those in the west, "suggesting that are a separate species".
Description
The white-crowned tapaculo is long. Males weigh and one female weighed. The male of the nominate subspecies is mostly blackish above and slightly lighter below. The flanks and vent are reddish brown and have black bars. It has a white patch on the crown of the head. The female is paler than the male and washed with brown above and is more reddish on the flanks. The juvenile is rust colored with heavy barring. The male S. a. nigricans is darker than the nominate and the female is gray underneath. The male S. a. confusus is paler than the nominate with a brownish lower back. The reddish brown on the flanks and vent, however, covers more area and has heavier barring.Distribution and habitat
The white-crowned tapaculo is found from western Venezuela to central Peru. Subspecies S. a. nigricans is found only in Venezuela, in Sierra de Perijá and the southern slope of the Andes in Táchira and Mérida states. S. a. confusus is found in the central and western Andes of Colombia. S. a. atratus is the most widespread. As it is currently defined, it ranges from the eastern Andes of Colombia and Ecuador to the central Andes of Peru as far south as the Department of Cuzco.The white-crowned tapaculo inhabits the undergrowth in the interior and edges of humid montane forest. It ranges in elevation from.