FIRST RECORDS OF RHYNOCRYPTID UNDERSTORY BIRDS IN THE CANOPY OF CHILEAN TEMPERATE RAINFORESTS

We documented the first observations of rhinocryptid birds in the canopy of a temperate rainforest in southern Chile. In the Bosque Pehuen Park, located in the southern Chilean Andes (39 degrees 42' S, 71 degrees 75'W), we installed camera traps in six old Nothofagus dombeyi trees, one per tree between 12 and 21 m above the forest floor. Traps were active from January to April 2017. The camera traps recorded three species of rhinocryptids in the canopy, between 12 and 14 m, Black-throated Huet-Huet (Pteroptochos tarnii), Chucao Tapaculo (Scelorchilus rubecula), and Magellanic Tapaculo (Scytalopus magellanicus). These records of rhinocryptids are unexpected since these species are currently believed to inhabit only on the forest floor and in the understory. This new information indicates that the canopy could occasionally provide food, shelter and nesting places for these birds.