Cundinamarca Antpitta

Identification

Overall the Cundinamarca antpitta is a dull olive-brown bird with white streaking on the underparts. The feathers of the bird’s back are an olive-brown that are fringed with a thin band of sooty-black, giving the bird the appearance of possessing very faint barring. This fringe vanishes from the rump and uppertail coverts, and the antpitta’s tail is slightly darker than its back. The wings are a richer brown than the rest of the upperparts, while the underwing is a buffy cinnamon. The underparts are mostly olive-brown fading to a dull white on the bird’s belly. The sides and flanks are covered with dull white streaking. The face and throat are a dull olive and slightly mottled, and the bird has pale streaking behind the ears. The Cundinamarca antpitta measures about 15 to 16 cm (6 to 6 in) long. The sexes are similar in appearance.<p>While no similar antpittas have been found to share the Cundinamarca antpitta’s habitat, making it unlikely to be confused with another species, it is distinguished from the similar Santa Marta antpitta by being darker overall and by range.<p>The Cundinamarca antpitta’s song is brief at roughly one second in length and is high-pitched for a member of its genus; it has been described as a “whir, whee-whee.” This song most frequently is composed of three whistled notes that increase in pitch, with a slight pause after the first note; sometimes, the final note is left unsung. The bird’s call is a two-note whistle with the first note piercing and at a higher frequency than the second.

Taxonomy

The Cundinamarca antpitta was first discovered by Peter Kaestner, an American diplomat and amateur ornithologist who later became the first birder to see 10,000 bird species anywhere in the world. The genus name Grallaria is from the Neo-Latin grallarius, meaning "stilt-walker". The specific name kaestneri is in reference to the bird's discoverer, Peter Kaestner. The Cundinamarca Antpitta's common name refers to the Cundinamarca Department, within which the entire population of the species is believed to reside.<p>When first described, the Cundinamarca antpitta was believed to be most closely related to the Santa Marta antpitta; however, it has since been suggested to be more closely related to the brown-banded antpitta and Urrao antpitta, due in part to details of the immature's plumage. The Cundinamarca antpitta has no known subspecies.

Scientific name

Grallaria kaestneri

Authority

Stiles, 1992

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Grallariidae

Genus

Grallaria

Range and habitat

Migration

Resident species

Conservation

The Cundinamarca antpitta is classified as being endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to its small range and habitat destruction. The species was classified as vulnerable as recently as 2012, but habitat destruction of up to 30% of the species' range is predicted over next 10-15 years, which will result in a population decline. The antpitta's success in living in heavily disturbed forest, provided some tree cover remains, may make the species more resistant to local extirpation.

Population trend

declining