Bird Guide

Equatorial Antpitta vs Tawny Antpitta

Equatorial Antpitta (Grallaria saturata)

Equatorial Antpitta

Grallaria saturata

Small40 gForest

Grallaria antpittas are a "wonderful group of plump and round antbirds whose feathers are often fluffed up...they have stout bills very short tails". The equatorial antpitta is about 14.5 to 15 cm (5.7 to 5.9 in) long and weighs 32 to 47 g (1.1 to 1.7 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have mostly rufous-brown upperparts; the sides of their head are somewhat more rufous. Their underparts are also mostly more rufous than their upperparts, with dark gray-brown flanks, a light rufous center to the belly, a buffy white to white vent, and whitish undertail coverts. Voice: The equatorial antpitta's long song is "a rapid, slightly descending trill of short, ringing notes lasting ~1.5–3.5 ". Its short song "begins with a single clear note, followed by a brief pause and then a fast, accelerating but stuttering trill of 4–5 notes". It apparently sings mostly at dawn and from a low perch.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Equatorial Antpitta
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Alarm call · Pichincha: Yanacocha, Volcán Pichincha, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: desertnaturalist · CC BY 4.0
Tawny Antpitta (Grallaria quitensis)

Tawny Antpitta

Grallaria quitensis

Medium66 gShrubland

The tawny antpitta is 16 to 18 cm (6.3 to 7.1 in) long and weighs between 58 and 81 g (2.0 and 2.9 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have pale buff lores and are whitish around the eye on an otherwise olive brown to rufous olive face. They have mostly pale brown to olive brown crown, nape, back, wings, and tail. Their crown and back have a slight gray wash and their rump is browner, almost clay-colored. Their primaries have pale buff leading edges and blackish to blackish olive trailing vanes. Their chin and throat are whitish. Voice: Despite its generally open habitat, the tawny antpitta is more often heard than seen. Its basic song is "a simple, three-note vocalization that starts with a short, even, overslurred note followed by a pause, and then two slightly longer overslurred notes at a slightly lower pitch in quick succession" that lasts about 1.1 to 1.3 seconds.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Tawny Antpitta
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · Cotopaxi: Laguna de Limpiopungo, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Michael Woodruff from Spokane, Washington, USA · CC BY 2.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Equatorial Antpitta and Tawny Antpitta.