Brasilia Tapaculo Scytalopus novacapitalis
Brasilia Tapaculo, Canastra, Minas Gerais, Brazil, April 2001 - click for larger image Serra da Canastra, Minas Gerais, Brazil
April 2001 and October 2022

The Brasilia Tapaculo was discovered in 1957 by Helmut Sick when Brazil's new capital, Brasilia, was under construction. It has subsequently been found in a few other sites but is endemic to a small area of Minas Gerais, Goiás and the Distrito Federal. It is classified as Endangered

It is found in the damp undergrowth of gallery forest.

Brasilia Tapaculo, Canastra, Minas Gerais, Brazil, October 2022 - click for larger image The Brasilia Tapaculo has dark grey upperparts and whitish underparts with a pale grey throat and breast and rufous thighs and flanks. Its legs are yellowish-pink.

Like all tapaculos, they are very difficult to see as they scurry about in the undergrowth. Fortunately, it sings and responds to tape playback but it was not such a "cinch" for me as is suggested in the site notes. They seem to be inexpert fliers.

Brasilia Tapaculo, Canastra, Minas Gerais, Brazil, October 2022 - click for larger image

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