ANTPITTAS   -   GRALLARIDAE

Scaled Antpitta Grallaria guatimalensis regulus Tandayapa Bird Lodge, Pichincha province, Ecuador. 25 January 2008. This bird was brooding two moderately-developed nestlings. The nest was about 150 m from the lodge, a messy clump of vegetation on a branch about 1.5 m off the ground.

Scaled Antpitta Grallaria guatimalensis regulus Tandayapa Bird Lodge, Pichincha province, Ecuador. Another shot of the nest. I don't know if this individual is the same as in the above photo, or its mate.

Moustached Antpitta Grallaria alleni andaquiensis Tandayapa Bird Lodge, Pichincha province, Ecuador. I guess you'll have to take my word on this one. This was perhaps only the second nest found for this species. The photo was taken on 28 November, 2003.

Chestnut-crowned Antpitta Grallaria ruficapilla ruficapilla Cabañas San Isidro, Napo province, Ecuador. The antpittas around San Isidro have become virtually tame since they started feeding worms to them every morning. I think this bird is a juvenile because of the scaling on the crown and the less distinct breast streaking.

White-bellied Antpitta Grallaria hypoleuca castanea Cabañas San Isidro, Napo province, Ecuador. A blurry shot because it was dark and always moving. My video of it is better. It was picking up worms that were put out for it on a trail near the lodge. Rather than eat the worms on the spot, it picked up as many as it could carry and hopped away.

White-browed Antpitta Hylopezus ochroleucus Araripe National Forest, Ceará state, Brazil. Another blurry shot, but this time because it was constantly rocking back and forth. This species lives in dry forest in northeastern Brazil.

Tepui Antpitta Myrmothera simplex simplex La Escalera (Sierra de Lema), Bolívar state, Venezuela. It was a bit lucky to find this one sitting on one perch for a long time, singing away. It was so dark that I had to take dozens of shots before one came out sharp.

Rusty-breasted Antpitta Grallaricula ferrugineipectus leymebambae Reserva Geobotanica Pululahua, Pichincha province, Ecuador. This species is in dire need of a taxonomic revision. The races occurring in Colombia and Venezuela are vocally very different from leymebambae, which occurs in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. There seem to be habitat differences as well, but so far there isn't any published data to support the split. I photographed this bird on 18 April 2003, and it was a significant northward range extension of leymebambae.

Slate-crowned Antpitta Grallaricula nana pariae Slopes of Cerro Humo, Paria peninsula, Sucre state, Venezuela. Note the white belly and pale lower mandible, typical of the races of the coastal mountains of Venezuela. They may well deserve to be considered a separate species, as they have some vocal differences too.

Slate-crowned Antpitta Grallaricula nana pariae Slopes of Cerro Humo, Paria peninsula, Sucre state, Venezuela. The same bird, but a front-on view.

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