Tapaculos (Rhinocryptidae)

Black-throated Huet-huet (Pteroptochos tarnii) - HBW 8, p. 765

French: Tourco huet-huet German: Schwarzkehl-Bürzelstelzer Spanish: Huet-huet Gorginegro

Taxonomy: Hylactes Tarnii P. P. King, 1831, Chiloé Island, and Port Otway, Gulf of Penas, Chile.
Forms a superspecies with P. castaneus, and formerly considered conspecific. The two are geographically separated in W Argentina (Neuquén) by a distance of over 200 km. Recent studies have shown, however, that, despite earlier theories, the upper R Bío Bío is not an effective barrier to dispersal, suggesting that the two taxa have been in contact several times during fluctuating climatic conditions; in addition, significant vocal differences exist, and comparison of mtDNA (though based on small samples) indicates genetic isolation for over 3 million years. Monotypic.

Distribution: S Chile, from R Bío Bío (also locally on right bank S of R Laja) S to Brunswick Peninsula, and adjacent W Argentina (from Neuquén S to W Santa Cruz).