Urrao Antpitta

Overview

The Urrao antpitta (Grallaria urraoensis), also known as Fenwick's antpitta, is a highly threatened bird found in the understory of cloud forest in the Andean highlands of Colombia. It was first described in 2010 following a complex discovery and naming controversy involving two competing scientific publications.

Identification

• Weighs between 53.5 and 57.4 grams, with flat wing chords of 95–99 millimetres and tail lengths of 57–63 millimetres.
• Features a slate-grey breast and lacks the brown flanks and breast band characteristic of the similar brown-banded antpitta.
• Sexes are similar in appearance, and the bird is relatively plain-coloured with uniform upperparts and underparts.
• Song comprises three notes of increasing length and frequency, while the call is a single note that rises, falls, and rises again.

Habitat

Restricted to upper montane cloud forest dominated by Colombian oak at altitudes of 2,600 to 3,300 metres, where most territories contain Chusquea bamboo thickets. The known distribution is limited to the Urrao municipality in and near the Colibrí del Sol Bird Reserve on the south-eastern slope of the Páramo del Sol massif, though its range may be larger.

Diet

Forages for insects, especially beetles, in the leaf-litter within the forest understorey. Both parents feed fledglings earthworms.

Did you know?

The bird was discovered during banding sessions in 2007 and 2008 when a researcher caught an unfamiliar antpitta, and the first holotype material consisted of 14 feathers taken from a living bird that was subsequently released.