Bird Guide

Magellanic Tapaculo vs Silvery-fronted Tapaculo

Magellanic Tapaculo (Scytalopus magellanicus)

Magellanic Tapaculo

Scytalopus magellanicus

Tiny14 gForest

It is a wren-like bird, 10 to 12 cm in length. The bill is slender and black while the legs are pinkish and fairly long. The tail is short and held erect. The plumage is dark-grey with a chestnut tinge to the flanks, undertail and wings. Some birds have a silvery-white patch on the crown. Juvenile birds are brown with dark barring and usually lack white on the crown. The song is loud, staccato and repetitive.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Magellanic Tapaculo
Recorded by Alex Toledo · Call, song · Puerto Montt, Llanquihue, Los Lagos, Chile · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Wayman Kong Gallardo · CC BY 4.0
Silvery-fronted Tapaculo (Scytalopus argentifrons)

Silvery-fronted Tapaculo

Scytalopus argentifrons

Small17 gForest

The silvery-fronted tapaculo is 11 cm (4.3 in) long and weighs 17 g (0.60 oz). The male of the nominate subspecies is mostly sooty black; the lower breast and belly are paler. The flanks and crissum (the area around the cloaca) are brownish red. It has a silvery forehead (the "front") and a white supercilium. The male Chiriqui is darker with a less prominent supercilium. The females of both subspecies do not have a supercilium; their upper parts are dark brown, the throat and breast are dark gray, the belly blackish, and the flanks and crissum brighter brownish red than the male's. Voice: The silvery-fronted tapaculo's song is a series of notes that slow but get louder during its five to 10 second duration . Its call is similar but shorter .

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Silvery-fronted Tapaculo
Recorded by Beth Cottam · Song · Copey (near Copey District), Dota, San José Province, Costa Rica · CC0
Photo: Anthony Batista · CC BY 4.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Magellanic Tapaculo and Silvery-fronted Tapaculo.