Jocotoco Antpitta
Grallaria ridgelyi
Large antpitta with a tiny range in southeast Ecuador. Unmistakable. Typical antpitta shape: plump and short-tailed with long legs, like a grapefruit on stilts. Brown above and pale silvery-gray below with a black cap and thick white mustache patch. Rare and local on or near the ground in the upper subtropical zone from around 2,300 to 2,600 m; especially fond of bamboo patches. Essentially never seen away from the Tapichalaca Reserve in Ecuador, where several birds have been trained to eat worms.
Identification
The jocotoco antpitta is a large (150–200 g) antpitta with a striking head pattern showing tufts of white plumes beneath the eyes. It has a song similar to the hooting of the rufous-banded owl.
Taxonomy
Its closest relatives appear to be the chestnut-naped antpitta and the pale-billed antpitta, with which it forms a group of antpittas with uniform breast plumage and smoky-grey flanks.<p>This bird's specific name honors the ornithologist Robert S. Ridgely, who took part in the initial discovery of this species. The common name refers to the local name of the bird, jocotoco, which is onomatopoetic after its hooting calls and song.
- Scientific name
- Grallaria ridgelyi
- Authority
- Krabbe, Agro, Rice, Jacome, Navarrete & Sornoza-Molina, 1999
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Grallariidae
- Genus
- Grallaria
Range and habitat
The antpitta is known only from a very small number of locations in southeastern Ecuador and adjacent Peru, and appears to be declining. It was believed to be limited to the upper Chinchipe River drainage in Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, but in 2006 a population was discovered in Cordillera del Cóndor in Cajamarca, Peru. It inhabits only wet, mossy forest with ample Chusquea bamboo stands and silvery-leaved Cecropia trees. It is found at altitudes of 2,250 to 2,700 meters.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
To protect the presumably small population, the Tapichalaca Biological Reserve was established on behalf of Fundación de Conservación Jocotoco in 1998.<p>The IUCN classifies it as endangered (B1ab(i, ii, iii, v)). This means that based on available data, it is estimated to occur in no more than five locations over a total area of less than 5000 km², with both habitat quality and availability, and numbers declining, and some of the subpopulations in danger of disappearance. Owing to its shyness and the call, which might be mistaken for that of a rufous-banded owl, it could be more widespread than now known, although surveys at several seemingly appropriate localities have failed to find any evidence of it.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Pericrocotus flammeus
Brightly-colored forest bird with a long tail. Male is decked out in black and orange-red, female in gray and yellow. Male lacks Small Minivet’s contrasting gray crown and back. Gives very high, somewhat bubbling twitter of “weeeep” notes. Travels in flocks, sometimes mixed in with other species. Often seen in bounding flight over the forest canopy.
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Dendrocopos major
Widespread black-and-white woodpecker with a range that covers much of Eurasia. Note the big white shoulder patches, extensive red on vent, and black crown. Male has a red nape patch; juvenile (both sexes) has a red cap. Size and bold black-and-white plumage distinctive in most of range. Inhabits almost all types of forest and woodland, parkland, gardens, even farmland with hedges and scattered larger trees. Feeds mainly on trunks and larger branches; also visits feeders. Gives a sharp “kik!”, often in series. Drums frequently, often giving a short, fast series that trails off quickly.
Dark-eared Myza
Myza celebensis
A medium-sized brown songbird in the honeyeater family with a long, downcurved bill. Lightly streaked and scalloped all over, its only conspicuous feature being a pale eye-ring. Singles and pairs occur in the understory of montane forest. Occurs at sites with the larger White-eared Myza, but Dark-eared shows an eye-ring rather than a spot below the eye, never shows rufous-toned underparts, and usually prefers lower elevations. Song consists of a rising trill. Also gives grating “kip-kip-kip….” call notes.
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