Giant antpitta facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Giant antpitta
G. g. hylodroma in Refugio Paz de Aves (Pichincha Province, Ecuador)
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Grallariidae
Genus:	Grallaria
Species:	G. gigantea
Binomial name
Grallaria gigantea Lawrence, 1866
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The giant antpitta (Grallaria gigantea) is a large perching bird. It belongs to the antpitta family, called Grallariidae. This bird is quite rare and a bit mysterious. It is only found in Colombia and Ecuador. Scientists think it is closely related to the undulated antpitta, G. squamigera. The giant antpitta has three different types, called subspecies. One of these might even be extinct.

What Does the Giant Antpitta Look Like?

Giant antpitta

As its name suggests, the giant antpitta is a very big antpitta. It can be about 24 to 28 centimetres (9.4 to 11.0 in) long. It can weigh up to 300 grams (10.6 oz). This makes it the heaviest of all the suboscine birds. Its back, wings, and short tail are a dull olive-brown color. The top of its head is light to medium grey, and this color goes down to its neck. The rest of its feathers are a deep reddish-brown.

The feathers on its throat and chest have black edges. This makes them look like they have dark stripes. Its bill is dark, strong, and heavy. Its eyes are also dark, and its legs and feet are grey.

The Giant Antpitta's Song

The giant antpitta's song is a low, fast trill. It has about 14 to 21 notes every second. The trill lasts for several seconds. During this time, the sound gets higher and louder. The bird repeats its trills after a short break. These breaks can be a few seconds or up to about twelve seconds long. The length of the break changes often.

The undulated antpitta (G. squamigera) is a little smaller. It has a lighter color on its cheeks and a yellower belly. Its song is similar to the giant antpitta's. But the undulated antpitta's song ends with extra trills. These extra trills have longer and longer pauses between them.

Where Does the Giant Antpitta Live and What Does It Eat?

In Colombia, one type of giant antpitta, G. g. lehmanni, used to live on both sides of the Central Mountains. Birds were seen there before the mid-1900s. One was seen in 1941 in what is now Puracé National Natural Park. However, this type of antpitta has not been clearly seen there again. In 1988 and 1989, some giant antpittas were recorded in La Planada Nature Reserve. But scientists need to check if these birds were truly G. g. lehmanni.

In Ecuador, the main type of giant antpitta used to be found more widely. This was on the eastern side of the Andes mountains. Now, it is only confirmed to be in western Napo Province. Another type, hylodroma, lives on the west side of the Andes. This is in Pichincha and Cotopaxi Provinces.

Giant Antpitta Habitat

The giant antpitta lives in subtropical to temperate moist montane forests. These are forests on mountains. The hylodroma type has been seen at heights of 1,200 to 2,000 meters above sea level. The gigantea type lives above 2,200 meters above sea level. The lehmanni type lives even higher, at 3,000 meters above sea level. Sometimes, it visits cloud forests with lots of plants on the ground. It can also be found in pastures and secondary forests (forests that have grown back). But it seems to need primary forest (old, untouched forest) to survive.

What Does the Giant Antpitta Eat?

The giant antpitta mainly eats animals that live on the ground. These are mostly invertebrates, which are animals without a backbone. It seems that large earthworms are a very important food for them. They also eat beetle larvae and slugs.

Reproduction and Life Cycle

Not much is known about how the giant antpitta reproduces. In Pacha Quindi Nature Refuge and Botanical Gardens, an adult G. g. hylodroma was seen feeding a young bird. The young bird had just learned to fly. This happened on April 19, 2001, and the adult was feeding it a large earthworm.

Protecting the Giant Antpitta

Much of the giant antpitta's home has been lost due to deforestation. This is why the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) lists the giant antpitta as a vulnerable species. This means it is at risk of becoming endangered. Between 2000 and 2004, it was even listed as endangered. People worried that its home was disappearing very quickly. But it turned out to be not as bad as first thought, so it was changed back to vulnerable in 2004.

Still, the giant antpitta is considered threatened. It is known to live in fewer than 10 places. These places cover a total of about 1,900 square kilometers. The quality and amount of its home are still getting worse. Some groups of these birds are very close to becoming completely extinct. Also, it is thought that there are fewer than 2,500 adult birds left. And in any one group, there are fewer than 1,000 birds.

The biggest dangers to the giant antpitta are too much logging (cutting down trees). Also, land is being changed to make room for agriculture (farming). Only where the main type of antpitta lives has deforestation slowed down. In other areas, trees are still being cut down a lot. This might even threaten areas that are supposed to be protected.

Puracé National Natural Park is the most likely place where any G. g. lehmanni birds might still live. The group of birds in La Planada Nature Reserve might have recently died out. They were not found there in the 1990s. The G. g. hylodroma type is found in several protected areas. These include Mindo-Nambillo Protection Forest, Bosque Integral Otonga, Refugio Paz de Aves, Pacha Quindi Nature Refuge and Botanical Gardens, Maquipucuna, and Río Guajalito forest reserves. But around these protected areas, a lot of trees are still being cut down. The main type of antpitta lives in the protected forests of Antisana Ecological Reserve and San Isidro Lodge.