Don't want to see ads? Sign up...




Species icon
Chucao Tapaculo

Scelorchilus rubecula
(Kittlitz, FH, 1830)
Chucao

Family: Rhinocryptidae
Order: Passeriformes
Class: Aves
Phylum / Division: Chordata
Kingdom: Animalia

 Request change
Filters


Conservation status according to BirdLife International: Least Concern

Synonyms: Pteroptochos rubecula.

Subspecies:


Description: Black beak and brown iris, with a general olive-brown coloration, featuring a striking reddish bib covering the neck and throat, a thin eyebrow of the same color passing behind the eyes and extending to a small portion above the beak. It has a fine white barring on the chest and a barely marked periocular of the same color.

Sexual Dimorphism: Same sexes.

Habitat: Inhabits dense vegetation in the humid forests of the south.

Behavior: Curious, active, it is common to see it running through the fallen leaves and branches of the forest at high speed, making it hard to spot, but if one stays still and silent, it is very likely to approach to investigate, where it becomes easier to observe. When it perches on a low branch, it does so with its tail erect.

Song: A powerful scream, heard from a great distance, which it repeats at intervals possibly to communicate with others. Whenever one screams, another can be heard responding from afar (Kovacs, 2005). The name “Chucao” is onomatopoeic, derived from the territorial cry it emits (Costa et al., 2012).

Nesting: Nests in holes that it digs itself in white soil ravines, where it lays a maximum of three white eggs.

Feeding: Feeds on small invertebrates that it searches for by scratching the soil and leaf litter of the forest with its feet.

Authors of this description: Diego Oscar

 See related literature




Loading map...




Last published photographs

Foto
Photography ID: 610996
  Adult

San Carlos de Bariloche
Río Negro
Argentina
11/22/2024
Dolores Fernandez
Foto
Photography ID: 307072
  Adult

San Carlos de Bariloche
Río Negro
Argentina
12/17/2018
Dolores Fernandez
Foto
Photography ID: 130222
  Adult

Parque Nacional Lanín
Neuquén
Argentina
12/09/2015
Dolores Fernandez



 View all photographs of the species




 Add a photography of this species





Last Vocalizations published



Audio playerUserDateCountryProvincePlaceSexLife stageIt was observedDetails
Dolores Fernandez12/21/2020ArgentinaNeuquénYucoParque Nacional LanínIndistinguishableAdultNoNo
Dolores Fernandez12/09/2015ArgentinaNeuquénYucoParque Nacional LanínIndistinguishableAdultYesNo
Dolores Fernandez12/22/2014ArgentinaNeuquénHua HumParque Nacional LanínIndistinguishableAdultYesNo



 See all the audios of the species




 Add an audio of this species





Last Filmings published





 Ver todos los videos de la especie




 Add a film of this species





 Reports


 Detail of places sorted by number of records








Page 1
Record IDDateExact timeCountryProvince / departmentPlaceFilmedPhotographedRecorded vocalObservedHeardWounded or deadNumber of individualsUser or BibliographyDetail
220096022/11/2024ArgentinaRío NegroCascada de los duendes, San Carlos de BarilocheDolores Fernandez
219845222/11/2024ArgentinaRío NegroCircuito ChicoDolores Fernandez
219785721/11/2024ArgentinaRío NegroParque Municipal Llao Llao, San Carlos de BarilocheDolores Fernandez
198088226/02/2024ArgentinaChubutparque nacional los Alerces, EsquelDolores Fernandez
190805110/11/2023ArgentinaRío NegroCircuito ChicoDolores Fernandez
167773822/11/2022ArgentinaNeuquénYuco, Parque Nacional LanínDolores Fernandez
167742021/11/2022ArgentinaNeuquénÁrea Tromen, Parque Nacional LanínDolores Fernandez
133976421/12/2020ArgentinaNeuquénYuco, Parque Nacional LanínDolores Fernandez
86048017/12/2018ArgentinaRío NegroParque Municipal Llao-llao, San Carlos de BarilocheDolores Fernandez
66011511/12/2017ArgentinaRío NegroParque Municipal Llao LlaoDolores Fernandez
Page 1

 Add a record of this species




Bibliography related


Artículo Costa M., R. Moller Jensen Y Otros. 2011. Proyecto Freebirds Guía de las Aves. <http://www.freebirds.com.ar>.

Artículo Kovacs, C. J., O. Kovacs, Z. Kovacs, C. M. Kovacs. 2005. Manual ilustrado de las aves de la Patagonia: Antártida Argentina e Islas del Atlántico Sur. Carlos Kovacs; Ors Kovacs; Zsolt Kovacs – 1ed – El Bolsón, 368 págs.



Citation recommended:

EcoRegistros. 2026. Chucao Tapaculo (Scelorchilus rubecula) - Species sheet. Acceded from https://www.ecoregistros.org on 06/04/2026.