The Tatama Tapaculo is another Colombian endemic that was only recently described by science. It was first seen in 1992 but only formally described in 2017. It inhabits a relatively small range in the Western Andes which is why it is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN list.
This Colombian endemic was only described by science in 2005! It was previously thrown in with the Ecuadorean Tapaculo complex but close comparison of recorded songs revealed it was in fact a separate species. Although my photos are not great, they are better than the Wikipedia page photos! That just exemplifies how difficult it is to photograph tapaculos in general.
Tapaculos are notoriously hard to see and if you do they are usually darting in the undergrowth making getting a decent photo agonizingly difficult. This photo was the best out of about a hundred! We saw this Ocellated Tapaculo in Colombia. They range from Venezuela to Peru in the Andes. They are the largest of the Tapaculos.
This small and exceedingly cute Antpitta is found in Colombia and Ecuador. As you can see this is one of the species that comes to feeders and the place we visited in Colombia clearly had this one well trained. It is one of ten species of small Antpittas in the genus Grallaricula.
This is the type of picture that people would get of Antpittas before they started feeding and luring them in for photos. We actually had these on our first trip to Colombia in the Santa Marta range and then again on my second trip in the eastern cordillera. On both occasions the looks were similar. They can be found in Colombia and Venezuela.
The Boyaca Antpitta is super interesting because it is one of very few Antpittas that are not hard to see out in the open without any type luring them out. They inhabit mostly open Paramo habitat so hiding in the forest is not an option for them. Their range is restricted to the Eastern Andes at high elevation (9000 to 13000 feet). They are a Colombian endemic. We saw ours in the famous Sumapaz National Park.
The Equatorial Antpitta is another of the 15 species split out from what was formerly known as the Rufous Antpitta. I think the Equatorial one is the one that most fits the old name of Rufous as it is truly rufous all over whereas some of the others have some other distinguishing mark. This is one of the most widely ranging of the Rufous complex and can be found in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. We saw ours in Colombia.
The Muisca Antpitta is another of the 15 species that were split from the Rufous Antpitta complex. This species was split from several nearby species that are separated by mountain ranges or river valleys. The IUCN classification still considers the overall Rufous grouping so it is listed as Least Concern but if they ever catch up to the new species break-out, it will undoubtedly throw this species into a more perilous category due to habitat loss. As you can see from this picture, a local in Colombia has trained this bird to come out in the open for pictures by feeding it meal worms or grubs.
The Bicolored Antpitta is one of the 15 species in the Rufous Antpitta complex. It has a relatively small range in the Colombian and Ecuadorean Andes. It was previously thought to be a Colombian endemic but a few have been found just over the border in Ecuador. It is mostly found at elevations above 7000 ft.
Here is another of the Antpittas that entrepreneurs in Colombia have established a symbiotic relationship with. The Antpittas get a reliable source of food with worms and grubs, they get their habitat protected and the locals get money from visiting birders. Everyone wins. This one was a good 20 minute hike into the forest so it felt a little more satisfying than the ones we saw on the sides of roads. Some of the Antpittas have a comical or friendly look to them, but this one was kind of angry looking. That being said it jumped up into my outstretched hand to take a worm so he wasn't as angry as he looks.
The Santa Marta Antpitta is a Colombian endemic that is vulnerable per IUCN classification. It is only found in a very small range in the Santa Marta mountains of northeast Colombia. The genus Galleria includes 47 species! Many of them are very shy birds that have been increasingly accessed by innovative locals spending time to cultivate a relationship with the birds. They sometimes have to work over years to get the birds to come in for pictures reliably but it pays off because the offspring of those birds are learning to trust these local entrepreneurs which creates a lasting model for conservation, local employment and happy visiting birders.
I suppose I couldn't have asked for better photo ops on this Antpitta. On my second trip to Colombia, we made many stops to various locations where the locals have trained the Antpittas to come for worms or grubs. These normally secretive birds have become accustomed to being the subject of many photos from visiting birders from all over the globe. This particular bird almost seemed to enjoy the limelight. This species is found up and down the Andes from Peru to Venezuela.
The White-bellied Antbird is usually quite shy, like most antbirds. We got lucky with this one on my last trip to Colombia. This species ranges across southern Central America and northern South America.
The Band-tailed Antbird is found throughout the Amazon basin in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru but it does spill over into neighboring areas outside the basin. We saw ours in the Pantanal in Brazil. It is one of two birds in the genus Hypocnemoides. It stays close to water.
There are 5 species of Fire-eye in the genus Pyriglena and apparently this one has a fairly large range in South America but I only ever saw one in Chapada dos Guimaraes just north of the Pantanal in Brazil. The Wiki entry on this species says it is "fairly common but uncommon" whatever that means! I can testify to the uncommon part of that statement. IUCN does not classify this species because it follows another taxonomy which has this species lumped in with some others to form the White-backed Fire-eye. Generally there is very little known about it.
This Antbird has two populations, one completely in Bolivia and the other that straddles Brazil and a tiny portion of Paraguay. We saw ours on our trip through the Pantanal in Brazil. We heard them several times and caught some glimpses but for the most part we gave up on getting good looks until this one showed up. This is the male, the female looking more interesting in my opinion.
Parker's Antbird is a Colombian endemic with limited range across all three of the central Andean cordilleras. It is one of 6 birds in the Cercomacroides genus. It has a status of Least Concern based on its wide range within Colombia, but it probably is not safe considering habitat loss. Like most Antbirds, the male and female have different coloration. I was lucky enough to see and photograph both although I can certainly improve on these photos.
Male
Female
As is typical with many Antbirds, these are difficult to see let alone photograph so I was pleased to get this photo. This species inhabits higher elevation forests in the Andes from Colombia all the way down to Bolivia. The only reason I got this photo was because we were waiting in the same spot for an Antpitta to show and this gal was the bonus bird. The females are buff colored in the areas that are white on a male.
Normally I would not generate a post for a species with such a poor photo, but this is a Near Threatened endemic bird in a very restricted range and it is difficult to get eyes on. The genus Drymophila contains 11 species of Antbird. This one only lives in a very small area in the Santa Marta mountains of Colombia's northeast. I hope to go back and meet this bird again.
Now here is an Antwren species that is not afraid to come out into the open! I have good pics of the male and female. They are distributed across much of the middle of South America in many different habitats but mostly scrublands and gallery forests.
The Northern White-fringed Antwren is in the Formicivora genus of Antwrens. There are 8 genera altogether so this is a big sub-family within the Antbirds Family. This particular species inhabits much of coastal forests of Colombia and Venezuela as well as some of the offshore islands like Tobago. Most Antwren sightings are fleeting and through the underbrush, but this one in Colombia posed nicely for me.
The Large-billed Antwren is one of the 17 species in the genus Herpsilochmus (Antwrens). They have a fairly large range smack dab in the center of South America in Brazil and Bolivia. We had ours in Chapada dos Guimaraes, just north of the Pantanal in Brazil. This one is the female and it was moving quickly in the twigs making my sensor go crazy hence the in-focus twigs but out of focus bird. Many of these birds have a Least Concern status per IUCN but many times that is just the range being large. Certainly they are threatened by habitat loss.
The Antvireo genus (Dysithamnus) contains 8 species and the Plain Antvireo has an additional 18 sub-species! As you can imagine with so many sub-species this bird has a huge range. This little gal was seen in the Atlantic Forest near Sao Paulo. The species is sexually dimorphic with the females more olive and refuse and the males more sooty looking.
The Russet Antshrike is found from Mexico all the way down to Peru in lowland and montane forests. Within this vast range there are 6 sub-species with varying degrees of differences in plumage. These photographs were taken on my second trip to Colombia. As with most Antshrikes they skulk in the undergrowth and you need to be quick if you want a pic. Depending on the authority, this genus (Thamnistes) has either one or two species in it with the Rufescent Antshrike sometimes being split from the Russet in Peru.
The Black-backed Antshrike is a monotypic species meaning there are currently no sub-species identified. It is part of the genus Thamnophilus which is comprised of 30 species of Antshrike. It ranges on the Caribbean slope of Colombia to Venezuela. We saw only one on my first trip to Colombia in the Santa Marta mountain range.
The Uniform Antshrike has a name completely based on the male plumage which is fairly uniform (one-color). The female, on the other hand, has variations of color on the face, back and breast. Both of these birds were photographed on my latest trip to Brazil. The first picture is a male with a dark gray plumage all over. The second is the female with a gray face, dark brown back and light brown breast. I was lucky to get any photos really as they were super skulky. This species is part of the large 30 species genus Thamnophilus, but also part of a smaller subset of three sister species within that group. It has a fairly large range across the Pacific and Eastern slopes of the Andes in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
The Variable Antshrike is super interesting because as its name implies, it has such variable plumage between the male and female (sexual dimorphism) but also within all the sub-species that can be found across much of South America. So this is one I was relying on our guide to help with ID. My only sighting/picture was in the Atlantic Forest of Sao Paulo but we did hear them again later on the trip. I hope to improve on pics soon, and perhaps by then they will split this species into birds with names that help to identify them based on plumage differences.
This Brazilian endemic was created as a split of 6 species from the Slaty Antshrike. Although it is endemic to Brazil, it does cover a very large area within Brazil and consequently enjoys a IUCN status of Least Concern. We saw several on my trip through the Pantanal. The first couple pics are the male and the last is the female.
Like many of the antshrikes in the genus Thamnophilus, they are heavily sexually dimorphic with the males being mostly black-and-white and the females chestnut-and-black-and-white. We saw both the male and female on my last trip to Colombia but I only captured the female and with a stick in her face so I am eagerly awaiting another opportunity. They are only found in Colombia and Venezuela but have a pretty wide range.
Rufous-winged Antshrikes are another one of the 30 antshrikes that make up the genus Thamnophilus. These ones are generally uncommon but reliable in some areas. They do cover a wide range across southeast South America so they are listed as Least Concern on the IUCN but as with many species, they are believed to be on the decline. We had this one in Chapada dos Guimaraes in Brazil.
