Conservation and Management

The conservation status of Magellanic Tapaculo is assessed as Least Concern. The species has a very large range, and although the population trend is unknown, it is not believed to be decreasing sufficiently rapidly to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable criteria. The population size has also not been quantified, but it is also not believed to approach the Vulnerable thresholds.

Habitat Loss and Degradation

It seems that due to its small size, and being more likely to cross non-forested areas, Magellanic Tapaculo is less affected by forest fragmentation compared to other larger tapaculos like Chucao Tapaculo or Black-throated Huet-huet (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 ). However, patch size has effects on abundance, with lower densities reported in smaller forest patches in Chiloé (68 Willson, M. F., T. L. De Santo, C. Sabag, and J. J. Armesto (1994). Avian communities in fragmented south temperate rainforest in Chile. Conservation Biology 8:508-520. Close ). While lower elevation populations inhabiting forested habitats may not be experiencing drastic effects of habitat loss, populations in the Andes may be threatened by the severe droughts that affect central Chile, as the rivers and creeks that it inhabits may decline and disappear.

Collisions with Stationary/Moving Objects

There is a record of an individual of the closely related Dusky Tapaculo killed by car impact on a highway; it is likely that Magellanic Tapaculo is similarly threatened by highway traffic. Increased habitat fragmentation and urban expansion may result in even greater threat of collision with cars in the future.

Human/Research Impacts

Tourism and camping areas appear to have no effect on population density, as long as the understory vegetation remains similar (69 Medrano, F. (2014). Tourism impact on wildlife in protected areas in Chile: Assessment based on three case studies and patterns establishment of intolerance through a literature review. Natural Resources Engineering Thesis, Facultad de Ciencias Agronómicas, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile. Close ).

Magellanic Tapaculo is a common species in the southern areas of its distribution. To maintain healthy populations, it is important to have native forests patches large enough to contain territories that are both sufficiently undisturbed to provide suitable nest sites and connected enough to permit movement among patches. (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 ). It currently occurs in 84 protected sites in Chile and 8 protected sites in Argentina (Table 1).