Bird Guide

Moustached Antpitta vs Plain-backed Antpitta

Moustached Antpitta (Grallaria alleni)

Moustached Antpitta

Grallaria alleni

Medium71 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 moustached antpitta is 16.5 to 17 cm (6.5 to 6.7 in) long; two males weighed 64 and 77 g (2.3 and 2.7 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a light olive brown forecrown and a slate gray crown and nape with thin blackish edges on the feathers. They have white lores, olive brown ear coverts, and a wide white "moustache" with thin black streaks in it. Voice: The moustached antpitta's song is "a slightly ascending series of hollow notes that gradually become louder; higher pitched and slower paced than Scaled Antpitta's song" (which see here).

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Moustached Antpitta
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · Pichincha: above (S) Tandapi, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Elizabeth Axley · CC BY 4.0
Plain-backed Antpitta (Grallaria haplonota)

Plain-backed Antpitta

Grallaria haplonota

Medium85 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 plain-backed antpitta is 16 to 17 cm (6.3 to 6.7 in) long and weighs 75 to 90 g (2.6 to 3.2 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies G. h. haplonota have a pale buff "moustache" with a dusky stripe below it on an otherwise brown face. Their upperparts are brown with a gray tinge on their crown; their tail is dark rufescent. Voice: The plain-backed antpitta sings from the ground or a low perch. Its song has been described as "a slow, measured of ca. 5-9 low, hollow notes rising slightly in middle" and as "a fairly slow, slightly decelerating, rising-falling, loudest at the highest pitch, series of hooted notes".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Plain-backed Antpitta
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · Napo: V.Sumaco: 1 km S "Wild Sumaco Lodge", Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Rob Foster · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Moustached Antpitta and Plain-backed Antpitta.