An enormous and spectacular Ocellated tapaculo
This enormous and spectacular Ocellated tapaculo—definition: resembling an ocellus—is the complete antithesis of a typical tapaculo.
Small populations can be found in Colombia’s Cordillera Central and Oriental, as well as in the highlands of northeastern Venezuela and the Cordillera Occidental (at least in Antioquia and the Páramo de Frontino).
a dense canopy of plants that includes many populations of South American highland bamboo (Chusquea),
Due to its dependency on bamboo thickets that can only grow in clearings, it seems to resist selective logging well and may even benefit from it.
These birds eat plant matter and crustaceans, which they simultaneously dig up with both feet.
It is uncertain how this species reproduces.
Like some tapaculo, a nest can be constructed above ground, inside a hollow tree trunk, or at the end of a tunnel.
Either the bird built the tunnel or it could be an old rodent burrow.
The nest is said to be incredibly delicate and is constructed of twigs, moss, grass, and root fibers. Two to three eggs are typically laid in this nest.
A normal tapaculo egg is white and, given the bird’s small size, very large.
These eggs take 15–17 days to hatch, while the gestation period is 14–15 days. It is known that the males of several species incubate the eggs.
