# Puna tapaculo

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Puna_tapaculo
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Puna_tapaculo.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puna_tapaculo
> Source revision: 1314996575
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2021}}

{{Speciesbox
| name = Puna tapaculo
| image = Scytalopus simonsi - Puna Tapaculo; Abra Malaga, Cuzco, Peru.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T22729298A263745472.en |article-number=e.T22729298A263745472 |title=Puna Tapaculo ''Scytalopus simonsi'' |author=BirdLife International |author-link=BirdLife International |year=2024|access-date=17 July 2025}}</ref>
| genus = Scytalopus
| species = simonsi
| authority = [Chubb](/source/Charles_Chubb_(ornithologist)), 1917
| synonyms =
| range_map = Scytalopus simonsi map.svg
}}
thumb|Puna Tapaculo
The '''puna tapaculo''' ('''''Scytalopus simonsi''''') is a species of [bird](/source/bird) in the family [Rhinocryptidae](/source/Rhinocryptidae). It is found in [Bolivia](/source/Bolivia) and [Peru](/source/Peru).<ref name=IOC11.1>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/ |title=IOC World Bird List (v 11.1) |last1=Gill |first1= F. |last2=Donsker|first2=D.|last3=Rasmussen |first3=P. |date=January 2021 |access-date=January 14, 2021 }}</ref>

==Taxonomy and systematics==

What is now known as the puna tapaculo was originally described as a species in 1917.<ref name=Chubb>{{cite journal |last=Chubb |first=C |date=2017 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/100942#page/43/mode/1up |journal=Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club |title=Scytalopus simonsi, sp. nov.. |volume=38 |page=17 |access-date=May 2, 2021 }}</ref> It was later treated as synonymous with Tschudi's tapaculo (''Scytalopus acutirostris'').<ref name=Zimmer>Zimmer, J.T. (1939). Studies of Peruvian birds 32. The genus ''Scytalopus''. Amer. Mus. Novit.. 1044: 1-18</ref> Still later it was treated as ''Scytalopus magellanicus simonsi'', a subspecies of [Magellanic tapaculo](/source/Magellanic_tapaculo).<ref>Peters, J. L. 1951. Check-list of birds of the world. Volume VII. Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.1 https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14480624#page/301/mode/1up retrieve May 1, 2021</ref> Following a study published in 1997, it was elevated to species rank because of differences in their vocalizations.<ref name=Krabbe>Krabbe, N., and T.S. Schulenberg. 1997. Species limits and natural history of ''Scytalopus'' tapaculos (Rhinocryptidae), with descriptions of the Ecuadorian taxa, including three new species. Pages 47-88 in J. V. Remsen, Jr. (editor), Studies in neotropical ornithology honoring Ted Parker. Ornithological Monographs number 48. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.</ref><ref name=SACClist>Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 19 January 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved January 19, 2021</ref> Its English name honors American scientific collector [Perry O. Simons](/source/Perry_O._Simons).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=En4wBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT1172|title=The Eponym Dictionary of Birds|last1=Beolens|first1=Bo|last2=Watkins|first2=Michael|last3=Grayson|first3=Michael|date=2014|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4729-0574-1|language=English|page=1172}}</ref>

==Description==

The puna tapaculo is {{convert|10|to|12|cm|in|abbr=on}} long. Three males weighed {{convert|15.7|to|20|g|oz|abbr=on}} and a female {{convert|15.7|g|oz|abbr=on}}. The adult male's upper parts are gray, often washed with brown on the neck and back. It has a narrow pale [supercilium](/source/supercilium). The throat and breast are also gray. The rump, flanks, and belly can be cinnamon or olive-buff and have dark bars. The adult female is similar to the males that have the brown wash; otherwise they may be paler. Immatures are paler overall but have a heavier brown wash on the upper parts. The entire underside is barred.<ref name=PUTA-BOW>Schulenberg, T. S. (2020). Puna Tapaculo (''Scytalopus simonsi''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.puntap1.01 retrieved May 2, 2021</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==

The puna tapaculo is found on the eastern slope of the [Andes](/source/Andes) at elevations of {{convert|2900|to|4300|m|ft|abbr=on}} from [Cordillera Vilcanota](/source/Cordillera_Vilcanota) in Peru's [Department of Cuzco](/source/Department_of_Cuzco) southeast to Bolivia's [Cochabamba Department](/source/Cochabamba_Department). It inhabits [elfin forest](/source/elfin_forest) at [tree line](/source/tree_line) and above there is in small shrubs and trees among grass tussocks. It can also be found in ''[Polylepis](/source/Polylepis)'' woodlands.<ref name=PUTA-BOW/>

==Behavior==
===Feeding===

Though very little is known about the puna tapaculo's diet, the species is probably [insectivorous](/source/insectivorous) though seeds are also eaten.<ref name=PUTA-BOW/>

===Breeding===

Very little is also known about the puna tapaculo's breeding [phenology](/source/phenology). One nest has been described; it was a cup lined with grass, placed at the end of a burrow approximately {{convert|1|m|ft|abbr=on}} deep. It had a dome of loosely woven grass over it and contained two eggs. After hatching, both adults provisioned the nestlings.<ref name=PUTA-BOW/>

===Vocalization===

The song of the puna tapaculo was described by D.L. Lane as "a series of descending churred phrases: ''tcherr tcherr tcherr tcherr ....''" [https://www.xeno-canto.org/16119]. Lane described a call as "a descending whinny: ''djee-ee-ee-eer''" [https://www.xeno-canto.org/229606].<ref>Schulenberg, T. S., D. F. Stotz, D. F. Lane, J. P. O'Neill, and T. A. Parker III (2007) Birds of Peru. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.</ref>

==Status==

The [IUCN](/source/IUCN) has assessed the puna tapaculo as being of Least Concern.<ref name=IUCN/> Though it has a restricted range and its population has not been quantified, "In the short term, the puna tapaculo is little affected by human activity".<ref name=PUTA-BOW/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1267982}}

puna tapaculo
Category:Birds of the Puna grassland
puna tapaculo
Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Puna tapaculo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puna_tapaculo) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puna_tapaculo?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.