Thicket Antpitta

Overview

The thicket antpitta (Myrmothera dives) is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It has a disjunct distribution across parts of Central America and northwestern South America and is believed to be a year-round resident throughout its range.

Identification

• Length of 13 to 16.5 cm with a weight of 38 to 44 g; plumage is identical in both sexes.
• Adults of the nominate subspecies feature a buff loral patch, dull slate gray upperparts with faint pale buffy streaks on the back, and a white or buffy white throat.
• The breast is ochraceous with black streaks, while the belly is white and the flanks and undertail coverts are unstreaked ochraceous to rufous-tawny.
• A blackish bill with a pale base to the mandible and pale pinkish gray legs and feet; song consists of a rapid ascending series of 10–13 clear whistles lasting around 1.6–2 seconds.

Habitat

Found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama, inhabiting dense tangled thickets such as forest edges, stream corridors, young secondary forest, and openings in mature forest caused by fallen trees. It also occurs in cacao and banana plantations, typically at elevations up to 1,000 m, though only to 900 m in Costa Rica.

Diet

The diet is not detailed but appears to consist mostly of arthropods, possibly including small vertebrates such as frogs. It forages while hopping and walking on the forest floor and downed logs, usually seen singly.

Did you know?

Although no effects of human activity have been thoroughly documented, it is noted that at least some degree of human disturbance may in some ways be a benefit to the species, which thrives in secondary habitats like plantations.