Scytalopus opacus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The Paramo tapaculo (Scytalopus opacus) is a species of bird in the family Rhinocryptidae. It is found in the Andes of Ecuador and southern Colombia. The Paramo tapaculo was originally described as a subspecies of Magellanic tapaculo (Scytalopus magellanicus) and then as a subspecies of paramillo tapaculo (S. canus). Krabbe and Cadena (2010) showed that they have very different voices. Based on that data, The South American Classification Committee (SACC) of the American Ornithologists' Union (now the American Ornithological Society, AOS) elevated it to species rank and the International Ornithological Congress (IOC) and Clements taxonomy followed suit.
The Paramo tapaculo is monophyletic. The Paramo tapaculo resembles other Scytalopus tapaculos. It is approximately 10.5 cm (4.1 in) long. Males weigh 13.9 to 17.9 g (0.49 to 0.63 oz) and females 13.4 to 16 g (0.47 to 0.56 oz). Males are very dark gray above and medium to dark gray on most of the underside. The flanks and vent area are tawny... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Nevados National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Páramo Tapaculo sighting in Los Nevados National Natural Park on a given day, based on 1,441 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 34th most-seen of the 424 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and July–August
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Páramo Tapaculo in Los Nevados National Natural Park on a given day, against about 20% in April–June and September–February, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Páramo Tapaculo sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Los Nevados National Natural Park, in our data
Los Nevados National Natural Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Páramo Tapaculo sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Scytalopus
The closest relatives of the Páramo Tapaculo that you can see in Los Nevados National Natural Park (genus Scytalopus, Scytalopus Tapaculos) are Spillmann's Tapaculo (about 10%) and Blackish Tapaculo (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Páramo Tapaculo is recorded against all the birds logged in Los Nevados National Natural Park (1,441 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
