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

Records from Lago Gutierrez

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: 317689
 
Lago Gutierrez
Río Negro
Argentina
02/16/2019
Pablo Cid
Foto
Photography ID: 244431
  Adult

Lago Gutierrez
Río Negro
Argentina
01/21/2018
Diego Hernán Pérez
Foto
Photography ID: 138765
  Adult

Lago Gutierrez
Río Negro
Argentina
02/18/2016
Diana Weyland
Foto
Photography ID: 65825
  Adult

Lago Gutierrez
Río Negro
Argentina
10/11/2014
Patricio M. Silfeni



 View all photographs of the species




 Add a photography of this species





Last Vocalizations published




 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
88866516/02/2019ArgentinaRío NegroCascadas de los duendes, Lago GutierrezPablo Cid
68963221/01/2018ArgentinaRío NegroCascadas de los duendes, Lago GutierrezDiego Hernán Pérez
40471718/02/2016ArgentinaRío NegroCosta del lago, Lago GutierrezDiana Weyland
18928611/10/2014ArgentinaRío NegroLago GutierrezPatricio M. Silfeni
11571721/02/2014ArgentinaRío NegroCabecera sur, Lago GutierrezDiana Weyland
11207915/02/2014ArgentinaRío NegroMargen este frente arelauquen, Lago GutierrezJuan Jones
2705516/01/2012ArgentinaRío NegroLago GutierrezJorge La Grotteria
2702413/01/2012ArgentinaRío NegroLago GutierrezJorge La Grotteria
2702012/01/2012ArgentinaRío NegroLago GutierrezJorge La Grotteria
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 12/03/2026.