- Scytalopus argentifrons
Includes: Chiriqui Tapaculo
Identification
11 cm. A rather small tapaculo.
- Silvery grey forehead and small supercilium
- Mostly sooty black plumage, paler on lower breast and belly
- Dusky-barred brown flanks and crissum
- chiriquensis is slightly larger, darker overall and has a darker forehead and well less marked supercilium
Females similar but they lack the supercilium and have dark rich brown upperparts scaled with black
Distribution
Costa Rica and Panama.
A fairly common restricted-range species.
Taxonomy
Two subspecies recognized:
- S. a. argentifrons in Costa Rica and western Panama (Volcán Chiriquí)
- S. a. chiriquensis in western Panama (east Chiriquí and east Veraguas)
chiriquensis is sometimes accepted as full species, Chiriqui Tapaculo, however it obviously doesn't differ vocally from the nominate.
Habitat
Undergrowth of moist montanes and adjacent second growth, often in thickets and bamboo along streams and ravines.
Occurs at 1000 to 3000 m.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on larvae, pupae and adult insects (including beetles, earwigs and crickets). Takes also spiders and egg cases.
Creeps and hops around, often on the ground.
Breeding
No information available.
Movements
This is probably a sedentary species.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved December 2016)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Silvery-fronted Tapaculo. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Silvery-fronted_Tapaculo
