Red-and-white Antpitta

About the Red-and-white Antpitta

The red-and-white antpitta (Grallaria erythroleuca) is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is endemic to Peru. The red-and-white antpitta was described in 1874 as a species. In 1970 at least one author treated it as a subspecies of the white-bellied antpitta (G. hypoleuca) but by the late twentieth century it was restored to species status.

It is monotypic. However, the population in the Cordillera Vilcabamba differs from the rest in some characteristics and might be an undescribed subspecies. Grallaria antpittas are a "wonderful group of plump and round antbirds whose feathers are often fluffed up...they have stout bills [and] very short tails". The red-and-white antpitta is 17 to 18 cm (6.7 to 7.1 in) long and weighs 73 to 80 g (2.6 to 2.8 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a bright rich rufous crown and nape. Many have a ring of bare grayish or bluish gray skin around their eye. Their back, rump, wings, and tail are a slightly duller and browner rufous than their crown and nape. Their throat and the center of their belly are white; the latter is yellow in the Cordillera de Vilcabamba. The sides of their... Wikipedia →