A taxonomic revision of the Paramo Tapaculo Scytalopus canus Chapman (Aves: Rhinocryptidae), with description of a new subspecies from Ecuador and Peru

Abstract

The nominate subspecies of the Paramo Tapaculo (Scytalopus canus Chapman), which is restricted to high elevations of the Western Andes of Colombia, differs substantially in song from S. c. opacus from the Central Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru. In accordance with current taxonomy of the genus, which is primarily based on differences in song, we assign species rank to both taxa. Within opacus, birds from southernmost Ecuador and northernmost Peru sing like northern opacus but call differently. They are indistinguishable morphologically except for a white patch in the wing present in 10 out of 12 of the adult males of the southern population. We describe this population as a new taxon and rank it as a subspecies of S. opacus. Genetically, S. canus, nominate S. opacus, and the new taxon are strongly differentiated (>5% divergence in mtDNA); the first two appear to be sister taxa.