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Chucao Tapaculo

Scelorchilus rubecula
(Kittlitz, FH, 1830)
Chucao

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

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Records from Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi

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

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Last Vocalizations published



Audio playerUserDateCountryProvincePlaceSexLife stageIt was observedDetails
 DownloadJorge La Grotteria01/20/2011ArgentinaRío NegroSeccional ChallhuacoParque Nacional Nahuel HuapiIndistinguishableAdultYesNo



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 Reports


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Page 1
Record IDDateExact timeCountryProvince / departmentPlaceFilmedPhotographedRecorded vocalObservedHeardWounded or deadNumber of individualsUser or BibliographyDetail
243813508/01/2026ArgentinaRío NegroSendero a mirador Tacul, Parque Nacional Nahuel HuapiAndrea Casaburi
225668214/01/2025ArgentinaRío NegroVilla Mascardi, Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi1Aluminé Sangorrín
197707611/02/2024ArgentinaRío NegroRío Villegas, Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi3Mariano Jalil
197672731/01/2024ArgentinaRío NegroCamping Los Rápidos, Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi4Rodolfo Domnanovich
195756026/01/2024ArgentinaRío NegroValle del Challhuaco, Parque Nacional Nahuel HuapiRicardo Juliano
181442905/03/2023ArgentinaRío NegroParque Nacional Nahuel HuapiJorge Schlemmer
157089601/02/2022ArgentinaRío NegroCamping Los Rápidos, Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi3Julián Tocce
208642303/01/2022ArgentinaRío NegroÑirihuau arriba, Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi2Faustino Hollmann
149959820/11/2021ArgentinaRío NegroValle del Challhuaco, Parque Nacional Nahuel HuapiRicardo Juliano
144924616/12/2020ArgentinaRío NegroLago Gutiérrez, Parque Nacional Nahuel HuapiJorgelina Lopez
Page 1

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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 11/03/2026.