Giant Antpitta (Grallaria gigantea)

Family
Grallariidae (Antpittas)

Size
25 - 26.50 cm

First Described (Guide)
Lawrence, 1866

Habitat
Humid montane forest in the upper subtropical to temperate zones, frequenting swampy areas in humid cloud-forest understorey, adjacent pastures and secondary forest. From 1,200 - 3,000 m.

Range (Guide)

Colombia (B), Ecuador (B).

Population
Estimated population is 1,000 - 2,499 (2010) and decreasing.

Status VU
Habitat loss and degradation due to deforestation through logging and conversion to agriculture and narcotics plantations is the main threat.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Voice
A low-pitched trill (14-21 notes per second), rising in pitch and amplitude, 4-8 seconds long with intervals from 4-12 seconds. Very similar to that of Undulated Antpitta (Grallaria squamigera), but slightly longer in duration and delivery-rate does not decrease at the end of each song-bout.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (17)...)

Giant Antpitta (Grallaria gigantea) [XC248468]
by Niels Krabbe from Pichincha: 1 km SSW Tandayapa, Ecuador (song)

Giant Antpitta (Grallaria gigantea) [XC212925]
by id from Alluriquin, Santo Domingo, Santo Domingo de los Ts\u00e1chilas, Ecuador (song)

Subspecies
Forms a superspecies with Great Antpitta (Grallaria excelsa). Possibly conspecific, or possibly only subspecies lehmanni may be better placed with Great Antpitta (Grallaria excelsa). Or, conversely, subspecies hylodroma may deserve full species rank.

The following 3 subspecies are recognised:

lehmanni Wetmore, 1945 - South-western Colombia at head of Magdalena Valley.
hylodroma Wetmore, 1945 - South-western Colombia (Nari�o) and Pacific slope of Andes in Ecuador (Pichincha, Cotopaxi).
gigantea Lawrence, 1866 - Eastern slope of Andes of Ecuador (eastern Carchi and Napo south to Volc�n Tungurahua).

Similar Species
Undulated Antpitta (Grallaria squamigera) which is marginally smaller, with yellowish underparts and pale malar.

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Giant Antpitta (Grallaria gigantea) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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