Endangered
Overview
About
The leggy Cundinamarca Antpitta inhabits misty highland cloud forest, a lush, wet habitat it shares with many other bird species, from residents like the Grass-green Tanager and Chestnut-crowned Antpitta to the migratory Blackburnian Warbler.
Although seldom seen, this bird clearly advertises its presence with a distinct and resonant song. Yet this vocalization did not turn ears until top world birder Peter Kaestner heard it on October 16, 1989. His curiosity piqued, Kaestner taped the song, then played it back. Forty-five minutes later, a mid-sized bird hopped into view with a combination of field marks unlike other Colombian antpittas. In 1992, the species was officially recognized. Kaestner was honored for his find in the species’ scientific name: Grallaria kaestneri.
Threats
Birds around the world are declining, and rare and recently discovered species such as the Cundinamarca Antpitta are made even more vulnerable by the cumulative impacts of threats such as habitat loss and climate change.
Habitat Loss
As with another Colombian endemic, the Antioquia Brushfinch, the main threat facing the Cundinamarca Antpitta is deforestation due to human settlement, logging, and clearing land for agriculture.
Climate Change
A changing climate presents a suite of often unpredictable threats to birds. Extreme weather events, including droughts, wildfires, and intense heat, are just a few ways climate change could put forest birds like the Cundinamarca Antpitta at risk.
Conservation Strategies & Projects
Birds need our help to overcome the threats they face. At ABC, we’re inspired by the wonder of birds and driven by our responsibility to find solutions to meet their greatest challenges. With science as our foundation, and with inclusion and partnership at the heart of all we do, we take bold action for birds across the Americas.
Create & Maintain Reserves
The Reserva Natural Refugio Tororoi (tororoi is the local Spanish name for “antpitta”) is a 446-acre reserve established in 2023 to protect critical cloud forest habitat for the Endangered Cundinamarca Antpitta. The reserve was created through a partnership between ABC, Fundación Camaná Conservación y Territorio, the direct investment funds of the Conserva Aves initiative, and the Herrera family, whose property borders the reserve.
The reserve adjoins other national and regional conservation areas, providing contiguous habitat for the antpitta and a wide range of other cloud forest species.
Collaborate in Partnerships
ABC is part of the Conserva Aves initiative, a partnership that seeks to create and expand subnational protected areas in Latin America. We have been working with local partners in Colombia since Conserva Aves launched in 2021, with support from the Bezos Earth Fund.
Support Communities
Our partners in Colombia are introducing environmental education programs in local schools and communities in the region to raise awareness of the Cundinamarca Antpitta and its conservation needs.
Bird Gallery
Like its close relatives, the Cundinamarca Antpitta is an elusive, terrestrial bird, round-bodied and short-tailed, with an upright stance. Its genus name, Grallaria (stilt-walker), is a charming reference to its notably long legs.
This bird’s muted plumage colors of olive green, brown, and gray allow it to effectively disappear into its cloud forest habitat. It also has a whitish throat, an olive-brown back faintly barred in black, and grayish underparts streaked thinly with white. Its wings are a slightly contrasting, richer brown.
Bird Sounds
The Cundinamarca Antpitta’s song consists of three similar, clear whistled notes that sound like wirt…wiirt..weert! Its call is a sharp, piercing skee-lee.
Song
David Edwards, XC119670. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/119670.
Call
Peter Boesman, XC274828. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/274828.
Habitats of the Cundinamarca Antpitta
The Cundinamarca Antpitta occurs in dense cloud forest and forest edges.
- Dense understory of humid primary and second-growth forest
- Forest edges and gaps containing shrubs, small trees, epiphytes, palms, and tree-ferns
Related Habitats of the Cundinamarca Antpitta
Forest Habitats
Range & Region
Specific Area
Eastern slope of the Andes in Colombia
Range Detail
The Cundinamarca Antpitta occurs in wet montane forest with thick understory within a small region along the Andes’ eastern slope in Cundinamarca, Colombia, southeast of Bogotá. It was first described in secondary forest at around 7,000 feet elevation. It is thought to occur between approximately 5,600–8,200 feet.
Did you know?
Although it can use forest openings and edges, the Cundinamarca Antpitta requires closed-canopy forest with a dense understory for successful nesting.
Life History
A denizen of the thick understory of Colombia’s misty cloud forests, the Cundinamarca Antpitta hops through the leaf litter on the long, stilt-like legs that inspired its genus name. It can fly, but rarely does so, and flies only short distances when needed. Furtive and shy, the Cundinamarca Antpitta is not often glimpsed, but its distinctive song rings out from the forest, making its presence known.
Diet
The Cundinamarca Antpitta spends most of its time on the ground, though on occasion it sings from low perches. While foraging, it hops from place to place, stopping now and then to shuffle through the leaf litter with its bill. Its quarry is mainly terrestrial invertebrates, including grubs, beetles, katydids, spiders, and earthworms. This bird sometimes batters prey against the ground or vegetation before eating it.
Courtship
As with other antpittas, the Cundinamarca Antpitta probably forms monogamous pairs that remain together for a nesting season. Pairs use their distinctive calls to reinforce their bond and stay connected within the densely-vegetated forests where they breed. Based on when this bird sings, ornithologists believe the Cundinamarca Antpitta breeds in the latter half of the year between September and November, which coincides with the end of the rainy season in Colombia.
Nesting
Although the Cundinamarca Antpitta’s nest has not yet been described, it’s probably similar to those of other antpittas in the Grallaria genus. These close relatives construct bulky open-cup nests made of sticks, leaves, stalks, vines, rootlets, and other plant matter, placed on stumps, logs, or branch forks or intersections, often just a few feet off the ground.
Eggs & Young
Its eggs and young have not been described, but like its close relatives, the female Cundinamarca Antpitta probably lays a small clutch of one or two pale-colored eggs. Both adults most likely alternate incubation duties, and both supply the chick(s) with food after hatching. Parent birds probably continue to feed the young for some time after they fledge.
