| Bicolored antpitta | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In Caldas Department, Colombia | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Grallariidae |
| Genus: | Grallaria |
| Species complex: | Grallaria rufula complex |
| Species: | G. rufocinerea |
| Binomial name | |
| Grallaria rufocinerea Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1879 | |
 | |
The bicolored antpitta (Grallaria rufocinerea) is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador. [2]
Starting in 1979 the bicolored antpitta was treated as having two subspecies, the nominate G. r. rufocinerea (Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1879) and G. r. romeroana (Hernández-Camacho & Rodríguez-M, 1979). [3] A study published in 2022 determined that the two were indistinguishable. [4] In 2023 the Clements taxonomy disallowed romeroana and returned the bicolored antpitta to monotypic status; the International Ornithological Committee followed suit in 2024. [5] [6] However, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World retains both subspecies. [7]
The species had also been thought to be only distantly related to the then rufous antpitta (G. rufula sensu lato ) but in 2020, genetic evidence revealed that the it was deeply embedded within the rufous antpitta species complex of as many as 15 species. [8] [9]
This article follows the monotypic species model.
Grallaria antpittas are a "wonderful group of plump and round antbirds whose feathers are often fluffed up...they have stout bills [and] very short tails". [10] The bicolored antpitta is 15 to 18 cm (5.9 to 7.1 in) long; one individual weighed 44.8 g (1.6 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a mostly rufous-brown or ferruginous red head, throat, upperparts, wings, and tail, though the throat is slightly more rufous than the rest and has some grayish mottling. Their underparts are mostly gray to sooty gray with a whitish central belly and whitish edges on the breast, side, and flank feathers. Both sexes have a dark brown iris, a black bill, and gray to brownish gray legs and feet. [11] [10] [12]
The bicolored antpitta was long thought to be endemic to Colombia but in 1999 its range was discovered to extend slightly into extreme northern Ecuador's Sucumbíos Province. In Colombia the species has a disjunct distribution in the country's Central Andes. One population is found from southern Antioquia Department south into northern Tolima Department. The other is found from western Huila Department south into Ecuador. It is found in the temperate zone, where it primarily inhabits the floor and understory of humid montane cloudforest as high as treeline. It also occurs on the forest edges and in secondary forest. In elevation it ranges between 2,000 and 3,100 m (6,600 and 10,200 ft) in Colombia and is known only at about 2,250 m (7,400 ft) in Ecuador. [11] [10] [12]
The bicolored antpitta is assumed to be resident throughout its range. [11]
The bicolored antpitta is one of several antpittas that regularly come to feeding stations set up to view them. There they are fed earthworms, which are thought to also be a large part of their natural diet. In the wild they also feed on arthropods. Their foraging behavior is not known in detail though they are assumed to be essentially terrestrial like others of the genus. They have been observed following swarms of army ants to capture prey disturbed by them, and are thought to follow large mammals such as tapirs for the same reason. [11]
A male bicolored antpitta in breeding condition captured in June indicates that its season includes that month. Otherwise nothing is known of the species' breeding biology. [11]
The male bicolored antpitta sings "a high, clear, whistled treeeee or treeeeeuh". Females apparently answer with "a kree-kree-kree-kree-kree-kree". [11]
The IUCN originally in 1988 assessed the bicolored antpitta as Threatened, then in 1994 as Endangered, in 2000 as Vulnerable, and in 2022 as being of Least Concern. Its estimated population of between 20,000 and 50,000 mature individuals is believed to be decreasing. "The species is threatened by deforestation for agriculture and human settlement. Much forest in the area has long been cleared primarily for coffee plantations, potatoes, beans and cattle-grazing, leaving scattered fragments of mature secondary forest and natural vegetation...The species nevertheless shows some tolerance of habitat degradation and disturbance and may recolonise areas from where it had previously disappeared." [1] It does occur in at least three protected areas in Colombia. [11]
Grallaria is a large genus of Neotropical birds in the antpitta family Grallariidae.
The chestnut antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is endemic to Peru. In 2020, two new species previously believed to be populations of chestnut pitta were described: the Oxapampa antpitta and the Ayacucho antpitta; this has left the chestnut antpitta with a much reduced range.
The yellow-breasted antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.
The tawny antpitta or western tawny antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
What is now the rufous antpitta complex was long considered to be a single species, Grallaria rufula, with seven subspecies. In 2020 G. rufula was found to be a species complex of 16 species, some of which were newly described. In 2021 the International Ornithological Committee and the Clements taxonomy implemented the split of the rufous antpitta into multiple species and accepted the newly described species. The revised Grallaria rufulasensu stricto, now called the Muisca antpitta, has no subspecies and is thus monotypic according to those taxonomies. However, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) did not fully implement the split. It retains the name rufous antpitta for Grallaria rufula and retains six of the seven previous subspecies within it. It had split only the former G. r. saltuensis as the Perija antpitta in 2018.
The Chami antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is endemic to Colombia.
The Cajamarca antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is endemic to Peru.
The equatorial antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is found is Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The Perija antpitta is a Near Threatened species of bird in the in the family Grallariidae. It is endemic to the Serranía del Perijá on the border of Colombia and Venezuela.
The Sierra Nevada antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is endemic to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia.
The Chachapoyas antpitta, or Graves's antpitta, is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is endemic to Peru.
The Panao antpitta, also known as O'Neill's antpitta, is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is endemic to Peru.
The Junin antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is endemic to the Peruvian Department of Junín.
The Bolivian antpitta is a bird in the family Grallariidae. The species was first described by James Bond and Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee in 1940. It is endemic to Bolivia. It is a member of the rufous antpitta species complex and was elevated from subspecies to species in 2020 on the basis of differences in plumage and vocalizations.
The Puno antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is found in Bolivia and Peru.
The Urubamba antpitta is a bird in the family Grallariidae. The species was first described as a subspecies by Frank Chapman in 1923. It is endemic to Peru. It is a member of the rufous antpitta species complex and was elevated from subspecies to species in 2020 on the basis of differences in plumage and vocalization. The same study also described a new subspecies of Urubamba antpitta.
The Muisca antpitta is a bird in the family Grallariidae. The species was first described by Frédéric de Lafresnaye in 1843. It was formerly called the rufous antpitta, which in 2020 was found to be a species complex composed of as many as 15 species, some of which were newly described. It is found in the Andes of northern Colombia and western Venezuela.
The Oxapampa antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is endemic to Peru. The Oxapampa antpitta was formerly believed to be a population of the chestnut antpitta, but in 2020 was described as its own species by Peter A. Hosner, Mark B. Robbins, Morton L. Isler and R. Terry Chesser.
The Ayacucho antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallaridae. It is endemic to the Peruvian department of Ayacucho. The Ayacucho antpitta was formerly believed to be a population of chestnut antpitta, but in 2020 it was described as a new species by Peter A. Hosner, Mark B. Robbins, Morton L. Isler and R. Terry Chesser.
