Manu Road, Cusco, Peru; 1 November 2009 © Kristian Svensson

Endemic to a small area of southcentral Peru, in the Vilcabamba and Vilcanota mountains, the Red-and-white Antpitta is, as its name suggests, principally rufous and white, becoming rather browner over the back. In shape and structure, it is a typical member of the genus Grallaria. This generally uncommon antpitta inhabits the undergrowth of humid montane forest at 2100-3000 m, especially where there is bamboo. Like most species of Grallariidae, the life history of this species is poorly understood, with nothing known concerning breeding. The population of Red-and-white Antpitta found in the northern Vilcabamba Mountains is seemingly meritorious of taxonomic recognition, given its apparent vocal distinctiveness (the song possesses three, rather than four, notes) and its yellow, rather than white, posterior underparts.

Recommended Citation

Schulenberg, Thomas S., and Guy M. Kirwan. 2012. Red-and-white Antpitta (Grallaria erythroleuca), Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; retrieved from Neotropical Birds Online: http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p_spp=%0A%09%09%09%09405641