Muisca Antpitta

Overview

The Muisca antpitta, Grallaria rufula, is a small bird in the family Grallariidae found in the Andes of northern Colombia and western Venezuela. It was formerly known as the rufous antpitta but was split into a distinct species in 2020 following taxonomic revisions that recognised the complex as comprising up to 15 species.

Identification

• Adults are approximately 14 to 15 cm long with a plump, round body and very short tail.
• Upperparts are rufous brown, slightly brighter on the face, throat, and breast; underparts are mostly rufous brown with dark grayish rufous flanks and a paler central belly.
• Lower belly, vent, and undertail coverts are white or buffy white.
• Features a blackish bill, dark brown iris, and lead gray to blue-gray legs; the long song consists of a drawn-out series of clear whistles lasting 6–11 seconds that accelerates at the end.

Habitat

This species inhabits the floor and undergrowth of humid, mossy, and epiphyte-laden montane forests, favouring dense vegetation such as forest edges, regenerating treefalls, landslide scars, and Chusquea bamboo thickets. It also occurs in Polylepis woodlands and nearby páramo at elevations between 1,850 and 3,800 m. Its range extends from Táchira state in western Venezuela south through north-central Colombia to Cundinamarca and western Meta.

Diet

The diet includes insects, snails, and earthworms. It forages on the forest floor by running or hopping, stopping to flip aside leaf litter and probe the soil to find prey.

Did you know?

The specific epithet 'rufula' derives from the Latin for 'red-headed' or rufous, while the common name honours the Muisca civilisation of the eastern Andes, a cultural legacy that continues in contemporary Colombian society.