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Long-tailed tapaculo

species of bird

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 14, 2026
Entity authorityQ1270956 ↗
Source-derived summary

The long-tailed tapaculo (Scytalopus micropterus) is a species of bird in the family Rhinocryptidae. It is found in the eastern Andes of Colombia, Ecuador and far northern Peru.

Taxonomy and systematics

The long-tailed tapaculo was formerly considered a subspecies of rufous-vented tapaculo (Scytalopus femoralis) but was separated based principally on differences in their vocalizations. They are now classed as sister species.

Description

The long-tailed tapaculo is one of the larger species of genus Scytalopus, and, compared to other Scytalopus species, its tail is relatively long. It is 13.5 cm (5.3 in) long overall and males weigh from 27 to 32.5 g (0.95 to 1.15 oz). Otherwise the long-tailed tapaculo has few distinctive morphological features: The male's plumage is drab, primarily dark gray with russet brown flanks that are barred with black. The female is similar but even drabber.

The long-tailed tapaculo's song typically begins with a series of single notes, but quickly turns into a series of couplets [1]. Its alarm call is a descending series.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Long-tailed tapaculo” as species of bird. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA sound reference starting point where classification, measurement and the date of the underlying evidence remain visible. The current 166-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Long-tailed, tapaculo and species can be independently traced.
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Why this record matters

The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of bird. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1270956. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

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Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Long-tailed tapaculo” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.