Breeding

Magellanic Tapaculo appears to start its territory defense in September. Egg laying occurs between between October and November, and adults feed young from the end of November to the end of January in the southern portion of its distribution, such as Bariloche, Argentina (Ubiría, eBird) and Valdivia, Chile (Pérez, eBird); feeding young can continue until the end of February in the central Andes (Gallardo, eBird). Juveniles have even been seen in March in Tierra del Fuego (47 Fjeldså, J., and N. Krabbe (1990). Birds of the High Andes: A Manual to the Birds of the Temperate Zone of the Andes and Patagonia, South America. Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen and Apollo Books, Copenhagen and Svendborg, Denmark. Close , 39 Medrano, F., R. Barros, H. V. Norambuena, R. Matus, and F. Schmitt (2018). Atlas de Las Aves Nidificantes de Chile. Red de Observadores de Aves y Vida Silvestre de Chile, Santiago, Chile. Close ). It can raise two broods in the same season (17 De Santo, T. L., M. F. Willson, K. E. Sieving, and J. J. Armesto (2002) Nesting biology of tapaculos (Rhinocryptidae) in fragmented south-temperate rainforests of Chile. Condor 104: 482-495. Close ).

Microhabitat and Site Characteristics

The nest is located in holes or fissures between the bark and the trunk or branches of a tree, in tree-trunk cavities, in fern-covered banks or cuttings, or between the tangle of roots and vines of a fallen tree (3 Goodall, J. D., A. W. Johnson, and R. A. Philippi-B. (1957). Las Aves de Chile. Volume 2. Platt Establecimientos Gráficos, Buenos Aires, Argentina Close , 16 Johnson, A. W. (1967). The Birds of Chile and Adjacent Regions of Argentina, Bolivia and Peru. Volume 2. Platt Establecimientos Gráficos, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Close , 61 Rozzi, R., F. Massardo, C. Anderson, S. McGehee, G. Clark, G. Egli, E. Ramilo, U. Calderón, C. Calderón, L. Aillapan, and C. Zárraga (2003). Guía multiétnica de aves de los bosques templados de Sudamérica austral. Fantástico Sur. Univ. de Magallanes, Punta Arenas, Chile. Close ). The height of the nest in temperate forest varies from ground level to less than a meter, with an average height of 74.3 ± 13.8 cm (n = 42) above the ground; in the same study, nests were well concealed, showing on average 99.6 ± 0.4% concealment (n = 38). In Chiloe rainforests, the majority of nests (76%) were within 25 m of a forest edge (17 De Santo, T. L., M. F. Willson, K. E. Sieving, and J. J. Armesto (2002) Nesting biology of tapaculos (Rhinocryptidae) in fragmented south-temperate rainforests of Chile. Condor 104: 482-495. Close ). Individuals of the Andean population nest mostly in rock cavities, normally near creeks (9 Martínez, D., and G. González (2017). Las aves de Chile. Guía de Campo y Breve Historia Natural. Ediciones del Naturalista, Santiago, Chile. Close ). Predation risk on nests can be reduced when they are located under high surrounding vegetation (62 Vergara, P., and J. A. Simonetti (2004). Does nest-site cover reduce nest predation for rhinocryptids? Journal of Field Ornithology 75(2):188-191. Close ).

Construction Process

Little information, but both the male and female contribute to nest building (58 Hosner, P. A., and N. E. Huanca (2008). Nest, eggs, and parental care of the Puna Tapaculo (Scytalopus simonsi). Wilson Journal of Ornithology 120(3):473–477. Close ).

Structure and Composition

The nest is a cup, covered inside with root fibers, lichens, branches, mosses, and reinforced with fine grasses, hair, and feathers (53 Landbeck, L (1857). Descripción de una nueva especie de pájaro chileno del jénero Scytalopus. Anales de la Universidad de Chile 15(1):182-184. Close , 2 Hellmayr, C. E. (1932). The birds of Chile. Publications of the Field Museum Natural History, Zoological Series 19:1–472. Close , 3 Goodall, J. D., A. W. Johnson, and R. A. Philippi-B. (1957). Las Aves de Chile. Volume 2. Platt Establecimientos Gráficos, Buenos Aires, Argentina Close , 61 Rozzi, R., F. Massardo, C. Anderson, S. McGehee, G. Clark, G. Egli, E. Ramilo, U. Calderón, C. Calderón, L. Aillapan, and C. Zárraga (2003). Guía multiétnica de aves de los bosques templados de Sudamérica austral. Fantástico Sur. Univ. de Magallanes, Punta Arenas, Chile. Close , 63 Altamirano T. A., J. T. Ibarra, F. Hernández, I. Rojas, J. Laker, and C. Bonacic (2012). Hábitos de nidificación de las aves del bosque templado andino de Chile. Fondo de Protección Ambiental, Ministerio del Medio Ambiente. Serie Fauna Australis, Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile. 113 pp. Close ).

Dimensions

In Chiloé, the entrances of the nest were of 20.9 ± 2.5 cm (n = 27) (17 De Santo, T. L., M. F. Willson, K. E. Sieving, and J. J. Armesto (2002) Nesting biology of tapaculos (Rhinocryptidae) in fragmented south-temperate rainforests of Chile. Condor 104: 482-495. Close ).

Reuse of Nests

Remarkably, De Santo et al. (17 De Santo, T. L., M. F. Willson, K. E. Sieving, and J. J. Armesto (2002) Nesting biology of tapaculos (Rhinocryptidae) in fragmented south-temperate rainforests of Chile. Condor 104: 482-495. Close ) described that successful nest sites can be reused. One nest site was reused twice in one breeding season, and at least 3 times over the course of their study (6 years).

Size

The mean dimensions of the eggs are 22 ± 0.4 mm x 17 ± 0.4 mm (n = 38; 16 Johnson, A. W. (1967). The Birds of Chile and Adjacent Regions of Argentina, Bolivia and Peru. Volume 2. Platt Establecimientos Gráficos, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Close , 15 Riveros, G., and N. Villegas (1994). Análisis taxonómico de las subespecies chilenas de Scytalopus magellanicus (Familia: Rhinocryptidae, Aves) a través de sus cantos. Anales del Museo de Historia Natural de Valparaíso 22:91-101. Close ); eggs are large in relation to the size of the bird (53 Landbeck, L (1857). Descripción de una nueva especie de pájaro chileno del jénero Scytalopus. Anales de la Universidad de Chile 15(1):182-184. Close , 3 Goodall, J. D., A. W. Johnson, and R. A. Philippi-B. (1957). Las Aves de Chile. Volume 2. Platt Establecimientos Gráficos, Buenos Aires, Argentina Close ).

Color and Surface Texture

As with other Scytalopus species, the eggs are white and dull (53 Landbeck, L (1857). Descripción de una nueva especie de pájaro chileno del jénero Scytalopus. Anales de la Universidad de Chile 15(1):182-184. Close , 3 Goodall, J. D., A. W. Johnson, and R. A. Philippi-B. (1957). Las Aves de Chile. Volume 2. Platt Establecimientos Gráficos, Buenos Aires, Argentina Close ).

Clutch Size

The clutch usually ranges from 1–3 eggs (63 Altamirano T. A., J. T. Ibarra, F. Hernández, I. Rojas, J. Laker, and C. Bonacic (2012). Hábitos de nidificación de las aves del bosque templado andino de Chile. Fondo de Protección Ambiental, Ministerio del Medio Ambiente. Serie Fauna Australis, Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile. 113 pp. Close , 3 Goodall, J. D., A. W. Johnson, and R. A. Philippi-B. (1957). Las Aves de Chile. Volume 2. Platt Establecimientos Gráficos, Buenos Aires, Argentina Close ), but there are records of 4 eggs in Valdivia (53 Landbeck, L (1857). Descripción de una nueva especie de pájaro chileno del jénero Scytalopus. Anales de la Universidad de Chile 15(1):182-184. Close ). In Chiloé, out of 10 nests studied, 9 had a clutch size of 3 eggs, and one had 2 nestlings (17 De Santo, T. L., M. F. Willson, K. E. Sieving, and J. J. Armesto (2002) Nesting biology of tapaculos (Rhinocryptidae) in fragmented south-temperate rainforests of Chile. Condor 104: 482-495. Close ). Clutch size may vary with latitude, as in other New World passerines (64 Kulesza, G. (1990). An analysis of clutch-size in New World passerine birds. Ibis 132: 407-422. Close ).

Incubation Patches

A male was collected in Lago Ranco with a well-defined brood-patch (16 Johnson, A. W. (1967). The Birds of Chile and Adjacent Regions of Argentina, Bolivia and Peru. Volume 2. Platt Establecimientos Gráficos, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Close ). In other closely related species from same clade, a brood patch has only been noted in females (22 Krabbe, N., and T. S. Schulenberg (1997). Species limits and natural history of Scytalopus tapaculos (Rhinocryptidae), with descriptions of the Ecuadorian taxa, including three new species. In Studies in Neotropical ornithology honoring Ted Parker (J. V. Remsen, Editor), Ornithological Monographs 47. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC, USA. pp. 46–88. Close ).

Incubation Period

De Santo et al. (17 De Santo, T. L., M. F. Willson, K. E. Sieving, and J. J. Armesto (2002) Nesting biology of tapaculos (Rhinocryptidae) in fragmented south-temperate rainforests of Chile. Condor 104: 482-495. Close ) indicated that Magellanic Tapaculo had an incubation period of 19 d. In other closely related Scytalopus species, eggs took around 15 d to hatch (65 Sick, H. (1993). Birds in Brazil: A Natural History. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ).

Information needed.

The nestling period appears to be about 11 d (17 De Santo, T. L., M. F. Willson, K. E. Sieving, and J. J. Armesto (2002) Nesting biology of tapaculos (Rhinocryptidae) in fragmented south-temperate rainforests of Chile. Condor 104: 482-495. Close ).

Very little information. In other closely related species of Scytalopus, it was found that both parents share all activities, including brooding and feeding, but females apparently spend more time brooding than the males (58 Hosner, P. A., and N. E. Huanca (2008). Nest, eggs, and parental care of the Puna Tapaculo (Scytalopus simonsi). Wilson Journal of Ornithology 120(3):473–477. Close ). Magellanic Tapaculo has been seen carrying fecal sacs from the nest in December in Altos de Lircay National Reserve (Urrea, eBird).

Information needed.

Not reported and not likely to occur. The only brood parasites that overlap geographically are the Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) and Screaming Cowbird (Molothrus rufoaxillaris), but there are no records of parasitism on this species or other any other tapaculo in Chile. In Argentina, the Shiny Cowbird does parasitize a tapaculo, the Crested Gallito (Rhinocrypta lanceolata) (66 Wetmore, A. (1926) Observations on the birds of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile. United States National Museum Bulletin 133. Close ).

Information needed.

Information needed.