The scaled antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela It has occurred as a vagrant on Trinidad. There is also a single record in Belize.
Region
Mesoamerica and northern South America
Typical Environment
Found from southern Mexico through Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama, south into Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, northern Brazil, and the Guianas. It inhabits humid foothill and montane evergreen forests with dense understory, often near ravines and streams. The species keeps to shaded forest floors with abundant leaf litter and vine tangles. It tolerates some secondary growth but prefers older, structurally complex forest. Records as a vagrant exist on Trinidad and sporadically in Belize.
Altitude Range
600–2500 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A shy, ground-dwelling antpitta that is more often heard than seen, it delivers a clear, mournful whistle from dense understory. It ranges from southern Mexico through Central America into northern South America, with rare vagrant records reaching Trinidad and Belize. Several subspecies vary slightly in tone and the prominence of the scalloped pattern on the underparts. It skulk-feeds in leaf litter and may at times associate with army-ant swarms to capture flushed prey.
Temperament
solitary and secretive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats, low and direct
Social Behavior
Usually encountered singly or in pairs within well-defined territories. Nests are typically cup-shaped structures of moss and rootlets placed low, often on banks or in dense vegetation. Both sexes are thought to participate in incubation and care, though nesting is seldom observed due to the species’ secretive habits.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A clear, mournful, whistled note or series given at intervals, carrying far through dense forest. Calls include soft, hollow hoots and piping notes, often delivered from concealed perches near the ground.
Plumage
Warm brown to rufescent upperparts with finely scalloped, dark-edged feathers over whitish to buff underparts creating a scaled effect. Throat often paler, sometimes buffy, with scaling more pronounced on breast and flanks. Feathers are soft and dense, aiding its cryptic, leaf-litter camouflage.
Diet
Primarily consumes insects and other arthropods such as beetles, ants, spiders, and orthopterans gleaned from leaf litter. It occasionally takes small vertebrates like tiny frogs or lizards. The bird forages by hopping and pausing to listen, then snatches prey with quick jabs. It may follow army-ant swarms opportunistically to capture flushed invertebrates.
Preferred Environment
Feeds on the dim forest floor with deep leaf litter, especially along shady ravines, root tangles, and fallen logs. Often forages near streams or in bamboo/fern thickets where cover is dense. Avoids open areas and edges except when crossing between patches of cover.
