Tapaculos (Rhinocryptidae)

Blackish Tapaculo (Scytalopus latrans) - HBW 8, p. 782

French: Mérulaxe noirâtre German: Kleiner Einfarbtapaculo Spanish: Churrín Negruzco

Taxonomy: Scytalopus unicolor latrans Hellmayr, 1924, Cerro Munchique, 7000 feet [c. 2140 m], in coast range west of Popayán, Cauca, Colombia.
Formerly treated as a race of S. unicolor, but differs vocally. Birds from W slope of E Andes in Colombia and from mid-elevations on Amazonian slope from Venezuela to N Peru, although included in nominate race, differ from it somewhat in vocalizations and in plumage coloration, and those from Ecuador, at least, are genetically closer to subcinereus. Race intermedius not known vocally, and affinities to present species are uncertain. Further study required. Three subspecies tentatively recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

  • latrans Hellmayr, 1924 - W & C Andes and W slope of E Andes in Colombia, and W and inter-Andean Ecuador S to N Cañar (locally spilling over to upper Amazonian slope); also at mid-elevations on Amazonian slope from W Venezuela (Mérida) S to N Peru.
  • subcinereus J. T. Zimmer, 1939 - Pacific slope from SW Ecuador (Azuay) S to NW Peru (Cajamarca, where possibly also on E slope of W Andes near Cutervo).
  • intermedius J. T. Zimmer, 1939 - C Andes of Peru in S Amazonas.