Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species has a very small range, within which habitat is declining owing to the replacement of natural vegetation mainly through conversion for agriculture. The uncontrolled spread of wildfires represents a severe threat with potentially detrimental impacts on the population. For these reasons, this species is evaluated as Endangered.
Population justification
The population size has not been quantified and further research is required. Based on the limited number of observations within the very small range however, the total population is unlikely to exceed 10,000 mature individuals. It is therefore here tentatively placed in the band 2,500-9,999 mature individuals, but the population may be found to be smaller.
Trend justification
The population is feared to be in decline owing to the continued loss and degradation of its forest habitat, as driven by the expansion and shifting of agriculture, charcoal production and use of fires in pasture management (Bornschein et al. 2007). Within the range, tree cover is lost at a rate of 6% over ten years (Global Forest Watch 2022, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein). As the species is not strictly dependent on forest but can also be found in secondary growth and shrubland, the rate of population decline is unlikely to be fast; it is here tentatively placed in the band 1-9% over ten years.
Scytalopus diamantinensis was described following fieldwork conducted in 2006, and subsequent analyses of specimens, vocalisations and mitochondrial DNA (Bornschein et al. 2007). It occurs in the Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil, where it is observed in the municipalities of Bonito, Abaira, Ibicoara, Lençóis, Iramaia and Barra da Estiva (Bornschein et al. 2007, ICMBio 2018).
The species inhabits both mature forest and secondary growth (capoeira), on terrain varying from steep to almost flat, at 800-1,600 m (Bornschein et al. 2007). It is often found in low capoeira dominated by the fern Pteridium aquilinum. It may infrequently visit adjacent shrubby campo rupestre vegetation. It favours patches of dense vegetation such as bamboo stands, masses of dead fern leaves and fallen stems. The species has been observed to move around at ground level and in the lower vegetation strata, up to 2 m above the ground (Bornschein et al. 2007).
Its habitat is threatened by clearance for agriculture, primarily the cultivation of coffee and bananas, as well as cutting for both subsistence and industrial scale charcoal production and frequent wildfires originally set to improve pasture or clear vegetation for shifting agriculture (Bornschein et al. 2007, R. Belmonte-Lopes and M. R. Bornschein in litt. 2009). The remaining forest fragments in the Chapada Diamantina are described as very disturbed. Large-scale governmental projects and unsustainable ecotourism are also listed as threats (Bornschein et al. 2007). The species' ability to persist in both young and old secondary growth, including regenerating logged forest (Bornschein et al. 2007) indicates some tolerance of habitat degradation and disturbance.
Conservation Actions Underway
The species' range is partly protected by Chapada Diamantina National Park, Marimbu/Iraquara State Environmental Protection Area, and possibly Morro do Chapu State Park. Forest clearance is reported to be ongoing in the national park (Bornschein et al. 2007).
13cm. This species is typical of the genus Scytalopus, being small, predominantly grey in colouration, with a relatively short tail. Males have blackish grey crown, nape, upper neck and back, with some brown and black barring on the blackish grey rump and uppertail coverts. Chin light grey; throat and breast slightly darker grey. Belly medium grey, becoming paler to whitish in the centre of the lower belly. Flanks and extreme lower belly brown to cinnamon, barred blackish. Undertail coverts barred blackish and cinnamon. Iris dark brown. Bill black, with some brown areas. Legs and feet brown with yellowish-brown undersides to the toes. The upperparts are washed dark brownish olive and the belly is slightly paler in subadult males, with some variation in barring. A presumed subadult female had brownish upperparts and cinnamon rump, the feathers having blackish edges and central dots; throat grey and upper breast washed buffy. Voice/Similar spp It utters a tcheep call, which is distinctive among its congeners. Its song is generally faster-paced and lower-pitched compared to congeners, although with some overlap, and its accelerating song is slower paced compared with closely related species.
Text account compilers
Hermes, C.
Contributors
Ashpole, J, Belmonte-Lopes, R., Bornschein, M.R., Lebbin, D., Sharpe, C.J., Taylor, J. & Wheatley, H.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Diamantina Tapaculo Scytalopus diamantinensis. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/diamantina-tapaculo-scytalopus-diamantinensis on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.