Copyright: TC/monacoeye • Paz de las Aves, Ecuador, Oct 2010 • Do not copy

Bird name: Giant Antpitta
Latin: Grallaria gigantica
Other: Gralaria gigante
Family: Grallariidae • Antpittas
Range: Southwest Colombia, north Ecuador
Similar:

Angel Paz started the whole Antpitta craze several years ago by feeding worms to Maria the Giant Antpitta and then bringing birders along to see her.

Unfortunately when I visited his ranch in March 2011, Maria had not been seen for three months, and the assumption was that she must have been eaten.

Angel seemed understandably a little preoccupied by this state affairs - especially as Maria had been bringing in busloads of tourists - but he was working hard on finding replacements: we managed to see a Yellow-breasted and a Moustached Antpitta as well as some other nice birds.

Mid-morning we sat down to a breakfast of coffee and delicious cheese empanadas - one of the culinary highlights of my trip to Ecuador - cooked by his wife.

Many thanks to Tom for these photos of Maria taken in October 2010, just two months before her mysterious disappearance.More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • San Isidro, Ecuador, Mar 2011 • Do not copy without permission

Bird name: White Bellied Antpitta
Latin: Grallaria hypoleuca
Other: Gralaria ventriblanca (Es)
Family: Grallariidae • Antpittas
Range: Colombia, Ecuador, northern Peru
Similar:

San Isidro Lodge on the eastern slope of the Ecuadorian Andes is a good place to see the White-bellied Antpitta, which is fed by worms on some mornings.

In the woods below the lodge, we heard many Antpittas calling, but never saw one. Once one approached to a few feet away, and then changed its call, but I was still unable to see it…

More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • Paz de las Aves, Ecuador, Feb 2011 • Do not copy

Bird name: Yellow Breasted Antpitta
Latin: Grallaria flavotincta
Other: Gralaria pechiamarillenta (Es)
Family: Grallariidae • Antpittas
Range: Colombia to northwest Ecuador
Similar:

A very nice Yellow-breasted Antpitta, which came to feed on worms at the Paz de las Aves ranch near Mindo.

More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • Paz de las Aves, Ecuador, Feb 2011 • Do not copy

Bird name: Moustached Antpitta
Latin: Grallaria alleni
Other: Gralaria bigotuda (Es)
Family: Grallariidae • Antpittas
Range: Southwest Colombia, north Ecuador
Similar:

The only problem with photographing Antpittas at Paz de las Aves was that my camera wasn’t quite up to the job of taking photos in the dark forest without flash.

Still it was great to see a Moustached Antpitta, birds which I’m told rarely respond to playback.

More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • Chiriqui, Panama, May 2010 • Do not copy without permission

Bird name: Streak Chested Antpitta
Latin: Hylopezus perspicillatus
Other: Spectacled Antpitta • Tororoi Pechirrayado (Es)
Family: Grallariidae • Antpittas
Range: Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, N Ecuador

This Streak-chested Antpitta was walking around on the dark forest floor near Pipeline Road in Central Panama.

It has no tail to speak of, a light eye ring, and strong, widely-spaced streaks on chest down flanks.More photos...

113 Grallariidae • Antpittas - IOC 2.5 2010

Grallaria squamigera - Undulated Antpitta - W Venezuela to C Bolivia
Grallaria gigantea - Giant Antpitta - SW Colombia, N Ecuador
Grallaria excelsa - Great Antpitta - Venezuela
Grallaria varia - Variegated Antpitta - Amazonia, SE South America
Grallaria alleni - Moustached Antpitta - SW Colombia, N Ecuador
Grallaria guatimalensis - Scaled Antpitta - S Mexico to C Bolivia, Tepuis
Grallaria chthonia - Tachira Antpitta - W Venezuela
Grallaria haplonota - Plain-backed Antpitta - N Venezuela, W Colombia to N Peru
Grallaria dignissima - Ochre-striped Antpitta - W Amazonia
Grallaria eludens - Elusive Antpitta - SW Amazonia
Grallaria ruficapilla - Chestnut-crowned Antpitta - N, W Venezuela to C Peru
Grallaria watkinsi - Watkins's Antpitta - W Ecuador, NW Peru
Grallaria bangsi - Santa Marta Antpitta - N Colombia
Grallaria kaestneri - Cundinamarca Antpitta - C Colombia
Grallaria andicolus - Stripe-headed Antpitta - Peru to W Bolivia
Grallaria griseonucha - Grey-naped Antpitta - Venezuela
Grallaria rufocinerea - Bicolored Antpitta - S Colombia, NW Ecuador
Grallaria ridgelyi - Jocotoco Antpitta - S Ecuador
Grallaria nuchalis - Chestnut-naped Antpitta - Colombia to N Peru
Grallaria carrikeri - Pale-billed Antpitta - Peru
Grallaria albigula - White-throated Antpitta - SE Peru to NW Argentina
Grallaria flavotincta - Yellow-breasted Antpitta - Colombia to NW Ecuador
Grallaria hypoleuca - White-bellied Antpitta - Colombia to N Peru
Grallaria przewalskii - Rusty-tinged Antpitta - C Peru
Grallaria capitalis - Bay Antpitta - C Peru
Grallaria erythroleuca - Red-and-white Antpitta - SE Peru
Grallaria rufula - Rufous Antpitta - Venezuela to C Bolivia
Grallaria blakei - Chestnut Antpitta - C Peru
Grallaria quitensis - Tawny Antpitta - Colombia to N Peru
Grallaria milleri - Brown-banded Antpitta - C Colombia
Grallaria erythrotis - Rufous-faced Antpitta - Bolivia

Hylopezus perspicillatus - Streak-chested Antpitta - E Honduras to NW Ecuador
Hylopezus macularius - Spotted Antpitta - Amazonia
Hylopezus auricularis - Masked Antpitta - N Bolivia
Hylopezus dives - Thicket Antpitta - E Honduras to W Colombia
Hylopezus fulviventris - White-lored Antpitta - W Amazonia
Hylopezus berlepschi - Amazonian Antpitta - S Amazonia
Hylopezus ochroleucus - White-browed Antpitta - E Brazil
Hylopezus nattereri - Speckle-breasted Antpitta - SE South America

Myrmothera campanisona - Thrush-like Antpitta - Amazonia
Myrmothera simplex - Tepui Antpitta - Tepuis

Grallaricula flavirostris - Ochre-breasted Antpitta - Costa Rica to C Bolivia
Grallaricula loricata - Scallop-breasted Antpitta - N Venezuela
Grallaricula cucullata - Hooded Antpitta - NW Venezuela, W Colombia
Grallaricula peruviana - Peruvian Antpitta - SE Ecuador, N Peru
Grallaricula ochraceifrons - Ochre-fronted Antpitta - C Peru
Grallaricula ferrugineipectus - Rusty-breasted Antpitta - Venezuela, Colombia
Grallaricula nana - Slaty-crowned Antpitta - Venezuela to N Peru, W Guyana
Grallaricula lineifrons - Crescent-faced Antpitta - S Colombia, Ecuador