Region

Northern Andes

Typical Environment

Occurs in humid montane and cloud forests of Colombia and Venezuela, especially along the Andean slopes. It favors dense, mossy understory, steep ravines, and areas with Chusquea bamboo. The species stays close to the forest floor, using root tangles and fallen logs for cover. It may venture to forest edges or along streams but avoids open habitats.

Altitude Range

1200–2600 m

Climate Zone

Highland

Temperament

solitary and secretive

Flight Pattern

short rapid wingbeats

Social Behavior

Usually encountered alone or in pairs, moving quietly through dense understory. Territorial during the breeding season and known to nest low, often in banks or root masses, with both parents involved in care. It spends most of its time on or near the ground, hopping between cover.

Migratory Pattern

Resident

Song Description

Song is a soft, mournful series of clear whistles, often delivered from a concealed perch. Phrases may rise slightly and then fall, repeated at measured intervals, especially at dawn and dusk.

Diet

Feeds primarily on insects and other arthropods such as ants, beetles, spiders, and orthopterans. It may also take small invertebrates from moss and leaf litter and occasionally small vertebrates. Foraging is deliberate, with short dashes to pounce on prey on the ground or low vegetation.

Preferred Environment

Prefers dense, shaded forest floor with abundant leaf litter, mossy logs, and bamboo thickets. Often forages along stream banks, ravines, and in tangles of roots and fallen branches where cover is ample.