• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	C2a(i)	B1ab(ii,iii,v); C2a(i)

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Endangered	C2a(i)
2016	Endangered	A2bc+3bc+4bc; B1ab(ii,iii,v)
2012	Endangered	A2bc+3bc+4bc;B1ab(ii,iii,v)
2008	Endangered	A2b,c; A3b,c; A4b,c; B1a+b(ii,iii)
2007	Endangered
2006	Not Evaluated
2004	Not Recognised
2000	Not Recognised
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	high
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	5,200 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	yes	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	1900-5000 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2016
Population trend	decreasing	poor	inferred	1998-2008
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Generation length	3.2 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	2-100	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: Rare and local (Athanas and Greenfield 2016). This species occupies a similar range to El Oro Parakeet (Pyrrhura orcesi), the population of which has been estimated at 250 to 1,000 individuals in 2006. The Ecuadorian Tapaculo is more patchily distributed within this range. Analyses of density and habitat suitability covering 113 territories in the southern part of the species’s range suggest a total population of 3,220 mature individuals (range 1,894-4,598) (Hermes et al. 2018).

Trend justification: The population is considered to be in decline as habitat within the species's restricted range is lost and deteriorates. Deforestation at the species's stronghold in El Oro has been severe and it has become hard to find in the Buenaventura reserve, where it was reportedly common 12 years ago (L. Navarete in litt. 2006). In addition, upslope movement owing to climate change appears to be ongoing (Hermes et al. 2018). This upslope movement is projected to lead to a continued shrinkage of the distributional size (at least 25% shrinkage until 2050 under the RCP4.5 climate change scenario), with available habitat shrinking by at least 33% (M. Schaefer in litt. 2016).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Ecuador	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Ecuador	Bosque Protector Molleturo Mullopungo
Ecuador	Daucay
Ecuador	Reserva Buenaventura

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	resident
Altitude	850 - 1500 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Very Rapid Declines		High Impact: 8
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Very Rapid Declines		High Impact: 8
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Ecuadorian Tapaculo Scytalopus robbinsi. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/ecuadorian-tapaculo-scytalopus-robbinsi on 24/12/2024.
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 24/12/2024.