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Spillmann's Tapaculo

Scytalopus spillmanni

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernInvertebratesForestSmall · 24 g
Spillmann's Tapaculo (Scytalopus spillmanni), photo 1
Photo: Christoph Moning · CC BY 4.0

What the Spillmann's Tapaculo sounds like

Sonogram of the Spillmann's Tapaculo: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Scold · Pichincha: Tandayapa ridge 3 km SSW Tandayapa, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Spillmann's Tapaculo: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · Pichincha: Tandayapa ridge 3 km SSW Tandayapa, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Spillmann's Tapaculo: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · Chimborazo: Oregán, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

Spillmann's tapaculo is 12 cm (4.7 in) long. Males weigh 21 to 30 g (0.74 to 1.06 oz) and females 20 to 29.5 g (0.71 to 1.04 oz). The male is blackish gray above with a dark brown rump. It is lighter gray below with tawny to cinnamon flanks and vent area. Some females are like the male, but most have the upperparts heavily washed with brown and an orange lower belly. The juvenile is brown above and dusky below, with barring above and below. Voice: The song of Spillmann's tapaculo is a 10 to 20 second trill whose volume and sometime pitch increase . The male and female have several calls such as , , and .

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Spillmann's Tapaculo

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is November, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Spillmann's Tapaculo

Regular range

The map shades 2 countries with regular records. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Colombia Ecuador

About the Spillmann's Tapaculo

Spillmann's tapaculo is a species of bird in the family Formicariidae. It inhabits the Andes of Colombia and Ecuador.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Magellanic Tapaculo (Scytalopus magellanicus) Magellanic TapaculoScytalopus magellanicusIt is a wren-like bird, 10 to 12 cm in length. Blackish Tapaculo (Scytalopus latrans) Blackish TapaculoScytalopus latransThe blackish tapaculo is approximately 11 cm (4.3 in) long. Narino TapaculoScytalopus viciniorThe Nariño tapaculo looks similar to several other Andean tapaculos.

Side by side: Blackish Tapaculo vs Spillmann's Tapaculo · Magellanic Tapaculo vs Spillmann's Tapaculo

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