the west and the Rio Xingu on the east. There are also a few records in the upper reaches of the Tapajós drainage. It inhabits mature undisturbed evergreen forest. Behavior Locomotion The scaled ground cuckoo is almost exclusively terrestrial, though it flys to low perches to rest or preen. It mostly walks or runs on the forest floor. Feeding The scaled ground cuckoo's diet is not known but is assumed to be mostly insects like that of other Neomorphus cuckoos. Their diet also includes significant amounts of other arthropods; small vertebrates like lizards, amphibians, and small birds; and sometimes fallen fruits. The scaled ground cuckoo is known to often follow army ant swarms and has been observed following peccaries, presumably to catch prey fleeing from them. Breeding Almost nothing is known about the scaled ground cuckoo's breeding phenology and its nest has not been described. Both are assumed to be similar to those of other Neomorphus cuckoos. Vocal and non-vocal sounds What is thought to be the scaled ground cuckoo's song is "a soft, low dove-like OOOOOOOoo about 1-2 seconds in length given repeatedly with approximately 1-2 seconds between songs." It makes a dry clacking sound by clapping its bill. Status The IUCN until 2011 assessed the scaled ground cuckoo as Near Threatened. However, IUCN follows HBW taxonomy and since then has not evaluated the scaled ground cuckoo separately from the rufous-vented. That species as a whole is assessed as Vulnerable due to forest fragmentation and destruction because it requires large undisturbed forest. Because so many details of the species' life history are unknown, its exact status is uncertain, but with its very small range and restricted habitat requirements it is "highly sensitive to human disturbance." References Further reading Firme, Pinto de Assis, Graves and Raposo (2014). Taxonomic status of Scaled Ground Cuckoo Neomorphus squamiger Todd, 1925. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 134(3): 224–231. scaled ground cuckoo Birds of the Amazon Basin Endemic birds of Brazil scaled ground cuckoo scaled ground cuckoo Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN