| Táchira antpitta | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Grallariidae |
| Genus: | Grallaria |
| Species: | G. chthonia |
| Binomial name | |
| Grallaria chthonia | |
 | |
The Tachira antpitta (Grallaria chthonia) is a Critically Endangered bird species in the family Grallariidae. It is endemic to Venezuela. [1] [2]
The Tachira antpitta was long known only from the type specimen and three others collected in the mid-1950s. They were taken at the hacienda La Providencia at the Rio Chiquita in the south-western part of Táchira state, Venezuela; the site is now within El Tamá National Park. [3] [4] Despite searches in succeeding years, only in 2016 was the species rediscovered. A team of researchers from the Red Siskin Initiative, a conservation partnership between the Smithsonian Institution and several Venezuelan scientific organizations, found six individual in the same area as its discovery. Expedition members took the first photographs in the wild and made the first sound recordings of the species. [4] [5] [6]
As far as is known, the Tachira antpitta is monotypic. [2]
Some authors have suggested that it should be treated as a subspecies of the scaled antpitta (G. guatimalensis). Others have suggested that it is more closely related to the moustached antpitta (G. alleni). [7]
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". [8] The moustached antpitta is 15 to 19 cm (5.9 to 7.5 in) long. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a brown forecrown and a gray hindcrown and nape with black scaled appearance. They have a mostly olive brown face with a wide light buff "moustache". Their upperparts, wings, and tail are olive brown with thin blackish edges on the back feathers that give a scaly appearance. Their chin and throat are olive brown with black tips on the feathers and a light buff patch in the center of the throat. Their upper breast is buff brown, their lower breast and belly dull whitish buff with faint gray streaks, their flanks buffier with faint gray streaks, and their crissum rich buff. Both sexes have a dark iris, a black bill with a pale olive-buff base to the mandible, and brown legs and feet. [4] [9]
The Tachira antpitta is known only from the small area in Táchira where the four specimens were taken and the 2016 and a few subsequent sight records made. The area is almost on the Colombian border so it is thought possible that the species does or did occur in that country. All of the known encounters were in the undergrowth of thick mossy cloudforest between 1,800 and 2,100 m (5,900 and 6,900 ft) in elevation. [4] [6] [9]
As far as is known the Tachira antpitta is resident in its range. [4]
The Tachira antpitta's diet and foraging behavior are not known, though it almost certainly feeds mostly on invertebrates. [4]
Nothing is known about the Tachira antpitta's breeding biology. It is assumed to make a nest like those of other Gralleria antpittas, a cup of plant material sited close to the ground. [4]
As of late 2024, xeno-canto had no recordings of Tachira antpitta vocalizations. [10] The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library has a few. [11]
The IUCN originally in 1988 assessed the Tachira antpitta as Threatened, then in 1994 as Vulnerable, in 2000 as Endangered, and since 2008 as Critically Endangered. It has an extremely small range and its estimated population of fewer than 50 mature individuals is believed to be decreasing. "This part of the Andes is one of the most seriously threatened by deforestation for agriculture." Most of the forest in its known area of habitation has been cleared for agriculture, mainly coffee and potatoes. Even the nominal protection afforded by El Tamá National Park has been compromised; almost 20% of its area has been converted to coffee plantations and cattle pasture. [1]
The Masafuera rayadito is a Critically Endangered species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Alejandro Selkirk Island in the Juan Fernández Islands of Chile.
The Perijá metaltail is an Endangered species of hummingbird in the "coquettes", tribe Lesbiini of subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.
The moustached puffbird is a species of near-passerine bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is one of seven species in the genus Malacoptila. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
The coastal miner is a species of bird in the subfamily Sclerurinae, the leaftossers and miners, of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Peru.
The moustached antpitta is a Vulnerable species of bird placed in the family Grallariidae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.
The ochre-striped antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The rufous-faced antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is endemic to Bolivia.
The great antpitta is a Near Threatened species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is endemic to Venezuela.
The scaled antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.
The plain-backed antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The Cundinamarca antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is endemic to Colombia.
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 beautiful treerunner is a Near Threatened species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Panama.
The rusty-winged barbtail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The Perija thistletail is an Endangered species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to the Perijá Mountains in Colombia and Venezuela.
The rufous-tailed xenops is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela, and possibly French Guiana.
The Rio Orinoco spinetail, or Orinoco spinetail, is a Near Threatened species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Venezuela and possibly Colombia.
The Urrao antpitta, also known as Fenwick's antpitta, is a highly threatened species of bird found in the understory of cloud forest in the Andean highlands of Colombia. The first published description used the scientific name Grallaria fenwickorum ; shortly afterward, a second description using the name Grallaria urraoensis was published. The editors of the latter recognized that the name likely was a junior synonym, but others have questioned the validity of the first description, and various authorities, including the International Ornithological Congress, have adopted G. urraoensis. Antioquia antpitta has been suggested as an English-language name compromise.
The Perija starfrontlet is an Endangered species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.
