Grallaria spatiator Bangs, 1898

Isler, Morton L., Chesser, Terry, Robbins, Mark B., Cuervo, Andrés M., Cadena, Carlos Daniel & Hosner, Peter A., 2020, Taxonomic evaluation of the Grallaria rufula (Rufous Antpitta) complex (Aves: Passeriformes: Grallariidae) distinguishes sixteen species, Zootaxa 4817 (1), pp. 1-74 : 9-10

Grallaria spatiator Bangs, 1898 , subspecies elevated to species

Sierra Nevada Antpitta

Includes population designated spatiator in the analysis. Diagnosis. Upperparts and flanks reddish-yellow-brown; anterior underparts paler grading into grayish white posterior underparts. A combination of trilled long and short songs ( Fig. 3 ) distinguishes G. spatiator from all other taxa in the complex except G. saltuensis . Trilled long songs of G. spatiator differ from those of G. saltuensis by having more notes, faster pace, and a greater decline in frequency of note peaks. Short songs of G. spatiator appear to differ from those of G. saltuensis by faster pace and higher initial frequencies of note peaks, although sample sizes were limited.

Distribution. Endemic to Colombia in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Magdalena, La Guajira, and Cesar, 2200–2900 m.

Plumage. Overall plumage of upperparts, including rectrices, remiges (wing edgings paler), crown and auriculars, dark reddish yellow-brown (7.5Y 4/4–10YR4/3) shading to color of underparts in malar area. Overall plumage of underparts, including undertail coverts, light grayish white tinged brownish yellow; broad breast band brownish yellow (2.5Y–10YR 6/8); flanks like upperparts (specimen photographs App. 6, Figs. A14 , A33, and A34).

Etymology. The English name Sierra Nevada is a shortened name widely used in Colombia for the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, to which this species is restricted. The name was also used by Krabbe et al. (2019).

Remarks. Grallaria spatiator is specifically distinct based on vocal characters, supported by plumage characters and mtDNA genetic distance of>8.5% from all other populations. See Remarks under Grallaria saltuensis .

Figures

FIGURE 3. Songs of Grallaria spatiator: (A) long song, Cuchilla San Lorenzo, Magdalena, Colombia (Coopmans ML68051); (B) short song, Cuchilla San Lorenzo (Coopmans ML236889).

FIGURE 14. Songs of Grallaria ayacuchensis: (A) long song, Chupón, Ayacucho, Peru (Hosner ML186919); (B) short song, Chupón (Robbins ML173831).