White-browed tapaculo

Scytalopus superciliaris

Photo by Freddy Burgos (Flickr)

Common name:
white-browed tapaculo (en); tapaculo-de-sobrolho-branco (pt); mérulaxe bridé (fr); churrín cejiblanco (es); weißbrauentapaculo (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Rhinocryptidae

Range:
This species is found in the Andean slopes of north-western Argentina, north of La Rioja, and marginally across the border into southern Bolivia.

Size:
These birds are 10 cm long and weigh 16,5-19 g.

Habitat:
The white-browed tapaculo is mountain rainforests, namely alder Alder jorullensis forests, at altitudes of 1.500-3.350 m.

Diet:
They feed on small arthropods.

Breeding:
White-browed tapaculos breed in October-December. They nest in a tunnel excavated among the roots of a scrub or tree, at the end of which there is a nest chamber with a cup made of roots, grasses and forbs, and lined with finer strands and feathers. The female lays 2 white eggs. There is no information regarding the incubation and fledgling periods.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a relatively large breeding range and is described as fairly common. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.