White-crowned Tapaculo

SCI Name:  Scytalopus atratus
Protonym:  Scytalopus atratus Orn.Monatsb. 30 p.22
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Rhinocryptidae / Scytalopus
Taxonomy Code:  whctap1
Type Locality:  Rio Negro, Boyaca, Colombia.
Author:  Hellmayr
Publish Year:  1922
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

SCYTALOPUS
(Rhinocryptidae; Ϯ Dusky Tapaculo S. fuscus) Gr. σκυταλη skutalē or σκυταλον skutalon  stick, cudgel; πους pous, ποδος podos  foot; "Mr. Gould also proposed a new genus in the group of Wrens, under the name of Scytalopus, and which he characterized as follows:  Genus SCYTALOPUS.  Rostrum capite brevius, compressum, obtusum leviter recurvum.  Nares basales, membrana tectæ.  Alæ concavæ, breves, rotundatæ, remige prima abbreviata, tertia, quarta, quinta et sexta æqualibus.  Cauda brevis, rotundata, (pennis externis brevissimis,) laxa.  Tarsi elongati, atque robusti, antrorsum scutellis tecti; posterius fasciis angustis cincti, squamis serpentum abdominalibus, haud dissimilibus; halluce elongato et robusto; ungue elongato; digitum anteriorum, medio elongato et gracili.    SCYTALOPUS FUSCUS.   ...   Hab. in Fretu Magellanico, Chili, &c.  Hoc genus ad illud in quo Troglodytes veræ amplectuntur maximam affinitatem demonstrat.     SCYTALOPUS ALBOGULARIS.  ...  Hab. in Brasilia." (Gould 1837); "The general contour of form is that of Troglodytes  ...  the tail is even shorter than in that genus, and consists of decomposed feathers, the whole has a rugged and disunited appearance; and lastly, the tarsi have their posterior aspect regularly banded with narrow scales, instead of having one or two continuous laminæ on that part.  ...  Tarsi long and stout, the forepart covered with large scutellæ; the hind part bound round with narrow scales, like the abdominal scales of snakes; hind toe long and rather stout, claw long; middle toe long and slender, and with the other two fore toes furnished with fine nails." (Gould 1851); "Scytalopus Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 4, 1836 (1837), p. 89. Type, by subsequent designation, Sylvia Magellanicus (Lath.) = Motacilla magellanica Gmelin (G. R. Gray, List Gen. Bds., 1840, p. 19)." (Peters 1951, VII, 283) (see Myornis).
Var. Scytolopus.
Synon. Agathopus, Sylviaxis.

atrata / atratus
L. atratus  clothed in mourning  < ater  black.
● ex “Black Vulture or Carrion Crow” of Bartram 1791 (Coragyps).
● ex “Black Swan” of Phillip 1789 (Cygnus).
● ex “Black Red-tail” of Latham 1783 (?syn. Phoenicurus ochruros).

SUBSPECIES

White-crowned Tapaculo (nigricans)
SCI Name: Scytalopus atratus nigricans
nigricans
L. nigricans, nigricantis  blackish, swarthy  < nigrare  to be black  < niger  black.
● ex “Suirirí chorrendo” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 182 (syn. Hymenops perspicillata).
● ex “Ypacahá obscuro” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 371 (Pardirallus).
● ex “Brunoir” of Levaillant 1802, pl. 106, fig. 1 (Pycnonotus).
● ex “Tachurí obscurito menor” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 167 (Ridgwayornis).

White-crowned Tapaculo (confusus)
SCI Name: Scytalopus atratus confusus
confusa / confusus
L. confusus confused < confundere to mix.
● Specimens of the Greater Snow Petrel in the British Museum had previously been confused with those of the Lesser Snow Petrel (Pagodroma).

White-crowned Tapaculo (atratus)
SCI Name: Scytalopus atratus atratus
atrata / atratus
L. atratus  clothed in mourning  < ater  black.
● ex “Black Vulture or Carrion Crow” of Bartram 1791 (Coragyps).
● ex “Black Swan” of Phillip 1789 (Cygnus).
● ex “Black Red-tail” of Latham 1783 (?syn. Phoenicurus ochruros).