Santa Marta Antpitta

Overview

The Santa Marta antpitta (Grallaria bangsi) is a Vulnerable species of bird endemic to Colombia. It belongs to the family Grallariidae and is monotypic, with the Cundinamarca antpitta as its closest relative.

Identification

• Plumage: Mostly dark olive-brown crown, nape, and upperparts with buffy whitish lores and a narrow buffy eye-ring on a white-streaked olive-brown face; deep ochraceous buff throat; whitish underparts with wide dusky olive-brown streaks.
• Size: 17 to 18 cm (6.7 to 7.1 in) in length.
• Features: Stout bluish gray bill; dark brown iris; dark gray to bluish gray or leaden blue legs and feet; very short tail.
• Song: 2½ whistled notes that are upslurred and interrogative at the end; call is a single, squeaky, rising queet.

Habitat

Found exclusively in the isolated Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia's Magdalena Department. It inhabits the floor and understory of humid cloudforest and mature secondary forest, often appearing in clearings and along roadsides. Elevation ranges from 1,200 to 2,500 m (3,900 to 8,200 ft), with most encounters occurring above 1,600 m (5,200 ft).

Diet

Diet consists largely of earthworms, arthropods, seeds, and small vertebrates such as frogs. Foraging is almost entirely terrestrial, involving hopping on the ground to seek prey, with occasional movement to low perches. Individuals are known to visit feeding stations where they consume earthworms and similar invertebrates.

Did you know?

The species' specific epithet honours Outram Bangs, a notable ornithologist. Its breeding season spans at least from September to January, although little else is known about its breeding biology.