| Great antpitta | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Grallariidae |
| Genus: | Grallaria |
| Species: | G. excelsa |
| Binomial name | |
| Grallaria excelsa Berlepsch, 1893 | |
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The great antpitta (Grallaria excelsa) is a Near Threatened species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is endemic to Venezuela. [1] [2]
The great antpitta has two subspecies, the nominate G. e. excelsa (Berlepsch, 1893) and G. e. phelpsi (Gilliard, 1939). [2]
The great antpitta and the giant antpitta (G. gigantea) form a superspecies. Some authors have suggested that they are actually conspecific or that subspecies G. e. phelpsi belongs to the giant antpitta. [3]
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". [4] The great antpitta is 22.5 to 28 cm (8.9 to 11 in) long. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a brown or olive ochre forecrown and a gray crown and nape with faint black scaling. The rest of their upperparts are olive-brown. They have white lores on an otherwise ochraceous to pale rufous face. They have a white to buffy-white throat with faint black stripes down the sides. Their underparts are mostly ochraceous to pale rufous with wavy black lines that give a scalloped appearance; their undertail coverts are unmarked bright tawny ochre. Subspecies G. s. canicauda has a darker forecrown than the nominate, with ochraceous lores, less white on their chin, and a paler throat and upper breast with wider black lines. Both subspecies have a dark brown iris, a black maxilla, a grayish horn or dusky pinkish mandible, and dark olive-gray to pale olive-brown legs and feet. [3] [5]
The great antpitta has a disjunct distribution. The nominate subspecies is found in western Venezuela in the Serranía del Perijá and south in the Andes from Lara to Táchira. Subspecies G. s. canicauda is known only from three specimens collected in Colonia Tovar, a town in Aragua state in the western Venezuelan Coastal Range. The species inhabits the understory of humid cloudforest. It favors areas along creeks and at the edges of gaps formed by fallen trees. In elevation it ranges between 1,600 and 2,300 m (5,200 and 7,500 ft) but is most common above 2,000 m (6,600 ft). [3] [5]
The great antpitta is believed to be a year-round resident throughout its range but might make some short elevational movements. [3]
The great antpitta's diet is not known, though worms appear to be a major part of what adults feed to nestlings. It is highly terrestrial while foraging; it hops, pauses, and dashes to capture prey. They seldom fly beyond a short distance or higher than to a low branch. Most observations are of single birds or pairs. They rarely if ever join mixed-species feeding flocks but do opportunistically attend army ant swarms. [3] [5]
The only information about the great antpitta's breeding biology is from a study of three nests found in 2003. The species' breeding season includes at least May and June. The nests were large open cups of moss, rootlets, leaves, and twigs lined with rootlets and fungal rhizomorphs. They were built in masses of epiphytes and branches on the sides of trees between 3.8 and 12 m (12 and 39 ft) above the ground. One nest had two eggs and another had one nestling. Both adults constructed the nests, incubated the eggs, and brooded and provisioned nestlings. The incubation period and time to fledging are not known. [3] [6]
The great antpitta's song, known only from the nominate subspecies, is "a long (4-6 sec), low-pitched, rubber-lipped trill, br'r'r'r'r'r'r'r'...r'r'r'r'r'ub...with barely perceptible rise in pitch and temp and abrupt ending". It also makes "a low, hollow du-du-du-du". [5] The species mostly sings from dawn into the early morning, mostly in the rainy season between April and November and less frequently during the rest of the year. It sings from a branch or log up to about 4 m (13 ft) above the ground. [3]
The IUCN originally in 1988 assessed the great antpitta as Near Threatened, then in 2000 as Vulnerable, and since 2022 again as Near Threatened. It is known from only a limited number of sites and its estimated population of between 1000 and 2500 mature individuals is believed to be decreasing. "Agricultural colonisation represents a significant threat in the Sierra de Perijá, Cordillera de Mérida and Cordillera de la Costa, and many areas have already been cleared for cultivation, both commercial and subsistence." [1] The species is fairly regularly found in Yacambú National Park, and other protected areas are within its nominal range, but it remains elusive and possibly extirpated in much of that range. [3]
The white-bellied antbird, is a passerine bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Panama, on Trinidad, and across northern South America. It is also called Swainson's antcatcher after William John Swainson, who first described it scientifically.
The streak-headed woodcreeper is a passerine bird in the subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Mexico, Central America, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela, and on Trinidad.
The slaty antwren is a small passerine bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found from Mexico south through Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The tepui swift is a species of bird in subfamily Cypseloidinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is found in Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela.
The rufous-breasted antthrush is a species of bird in the family Formicariidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
The giant antpitta is a perching bird species in the antpitta family (Grallariidae). Rare and somewhat enigmatic, it is known only from Colombia and Ecuador. It is presumably a close relative of the similar undulated antpitta, G. squamigera, which occurs to the south of G. gigantea. The giant antpitta has three subspecies, one of which might be extinct.
The undulated antpitta is a bird in the family Grallariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The variegated antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, the Guianas, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela.
The bare-crowned antbird is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama.
The spot-backed antbird is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The yellow-browed antbird, or yellow-browed antwarbler, is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The black-faced antbird is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The long-winged antwren is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The flammulated treehunter is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The streak-capped treehunter is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
The whiskered wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
The olive-backed woodcreeper is a species of bird in the subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The yellow-breasted warbling antbird or yellow-breasted antwarbler, is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru.
The Perijá antpitta is a species of bird in the antpitta family. It is endemic to the Serranía del Perijá on the border of Colombia and Venezuela. In 2016, it was elevated from subspecies of rufous antpitta to full species on the basis of its different vocalizations from the other members of the species complex.
The Muisca antpitta is a bird in the family Grallariidae. The species was first described by Frédéric de Lafresnaye in 1843. It was formerly considered to be the rufous antpitta, which in 2020 was found to be a species complex composed of 13 species, including the bicolored antpitta. It is endemic to the eastern Andes in northern Colombia and western Venezuela.
