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: 667254
  Adult

San Carlos de Bariloche
Río Negro
Argentina
01/12/2026
Mariano Costa
Foto
Photography ID: 39220
  Adult

San Carlos de Bariloche
Río Negro
Argentina
02/15/2014
Mariano Costa



 View all photographs of the species




 Add a photography of this species





Last Vocalizations published



Audio playerUserDateCountryProvincePlaceSexLife stageIt was observedDetails
Mariano Costa01/12/2026ArgentinaRío NegroCerro Catedral (base)San Carlos de BarilocheN/AAdultYesNo
Mariano Costa01/16/2014ChileRegión de la AraucaníaValdiviaIndistinguishableAdultNoNo



 See all the audios of the species




 Add an audio of this species





Last Filmings published




 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
241956722/01/202612:34ArgentinaRío NegroCamino sin nombrarMariano Costa
241823518/01/202619:07ArgentinaRío NegroCamino sin nombrarMariano Costa
241820118/01/202608:03ArgentinaRío NegroCamino sin nombrarMariano Costa
241819918/01/202607:58ArgentinaRío NegroCamino sin nombrarMariano Costa
241553212/01/2026ArgentinaRío NegroCerro Catedral (base), San Carlos de BarilocheMariano Costa
240879501/01/202618:25ArgentinaRío NegroCamino sin nombrarMariano Costa
239932414/12/202514:49ArgentinaRío NegroCamino sin nombrar2Mariano Costa
239915014/12/202507:52ArgentinaRío NegroCamino sin nombrar1Mariano Costa
239880313/12/202509:28ArgentinaRío NegroCamino sin nombrarMariano Costa
239098125/11/202516:20ChileRegión de Los LagosQuebrada HondaMariano Costa
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 20/03/2026.