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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 Villa Pehuenia

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 published photographs

Foto
Photography ID: 418126
  Adult

Villa Pehuenia
Neuquén
Argentina
02/29/2016
Claudia Mora
Foto
Photography ID: 135388
  Adult

Villa Pehuenia
Neuquén
Argentina
01/04/2016
Diego Oscar



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Last Vocalizations published




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Last Filmings published


Video ID: 1359
  Adult

Villa Pehuenia
Neuquén
Argentina
02/29/2016
Santos Di Mauro



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 Reports


 Detail of places sorted by number of records








Page 1
Record IDDateExact timeCountryProvince / departmentPlaceFilmedPhotographedRecorded vocalObservedHeardWounded or deadNumber of individualsUser or BibliographyDetail
227690029/03/2025ArgentinaNeuquénVilla PehueniaJulian Uriel Collado
137025506/02/2021ArgentinaNeuquénCircuito Pehuenia, Villa PehueniaVictor Hugo Michelini
106934721/05/2016ArgentinaNeuquénVilla PehueniaJulian Quillen Vidoz
130840729/02/2016ArgentinaNeuquénParaje la Península, Villa PehueniaClaudia Mora
42085629/02/2016ArgentinaNeuquénParaje la Península, Villa PehueniaSantos Di Mauro
38865004/01/2016ArgentinaNeuquénCircuito Pehuenia, Villa Pehuenia2Diego Oscar
38860903/01/2016ArgentinaNeuquénCircuito Pehuenia, Villa Pehuenia1Diego Oscar
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 10/03/2026.