Scaled antpitta

Grallaria guatimalensis

Photo by Chris West (Flickr)

Common name:
scaled antpitta (en); tovacuçu-corujinha (pt); grallaire écaillée (fr); tororoí cholino (es); kleine bartameisenpitta (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Formicariidae

Range:
This species is found from southern Mexico to Colombia and Venezuela, and through Ecuador into Peru and Bolivia.

Size:
These birds are 18 cm long and weigh 94-98 g.

Habitat:
The scales antpitta is mostly found in moist tropical forests, especially in mountainous areas but also in the lowlands. They are also found in plantations. This species is found at altitudes of 200-3.000 m.

Diet:
They forage among the forest leaf litter, taking worms, large insects and other invertebrates, and also small frogs.

Breeding:
Scale antpittas breed in May-July. The nest is a large, bulky cup, made of dry leaves, twigs and moss, and lined with fine rootlets and moss. The nest is placed on the branches of a tree, near the trunk, up to 1,5 m above the ground. There the female lays 2 turquoise-blue eggs. There is no information regarding the length of the incubation period, but the chicks fledge 17-19 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and the global population is estimated at 50.000-500.000 individuals. The population is expected to decline moderately due to habitat loss and fragmentation, based on current models of Amazonian deforestation, but it is not considered threatened at present.