The tepui antpitta or brown-breasted antpitta (''Myrmothera simplex'') is a species of bird in the family

Grallariidae Grallariidae is a family of smallish suboscine passerine birds of subtropical and tropical Central and South America known as antpittas. They are between long, and are related to the antbirds, Thamnophilidae, and gnateaters, Conopophagidae. T ...

. It is found in Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela.

Taxonomy and systematics

The tepui antpitta was originally described in 1884 as ''Grallaria simplex''. It was later transferred to genus ''Myrmothera''.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 27 July 2024. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved 28 July 2024 At least one twentieth century author used the name "brown-breasted antpitta" for the species.Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1970. A guide to the birds of South America. Livingston Publishing Co., Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. The tepui antpitta has these four subspecies: *''M. s. pacaraimae'' Phelps, WH Jr & Dickerman, 1980 *''M. s. simplex'' ( Salvin & Godman, 1884) *''M. s. guaiquinimae'' Zimmer, JT & Phelps, WH, 1946 *''M. s. duidae'' Chapman, 1929

Description

The tepui antpitta is about long; four males weighed between and two females . The sexes have the same plumage and the subspecies differ little from each other. Adults of the nominate subspecies ''M. s. simplex'' have a small white spot behind their eye. Most of the rest of their face is chestnut-brown with slightly paler and grayer lores. Their crown, nape, upperparts, wings, and tail are chestnut-brown. Their chin and throat are white. Their breast, sides, and flanks are olivaceous gray or gray with an olive-brown wash. The center of their belly is white and their crissum tawny-brown. Subspecies ''M. s. duidae'' has a browner breast and flanks than the nominate. ''M. s. guaiquinimae'' has a more olive breast and flanks than the nominate. ''M. s. pacaraimae'' is paler than the other three subspecies and the white of its underparts starts on its lower breast. All subspecies have a brown iris, a black bill with a pink-white base to the

mandible In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone i ...

, and medium gray legs and feet.Krabbe, N. and T. S. Schulenberg (2020). Tepui Antpitta (''Myrmothera simplex''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.tepant1.01 retrieved 16 September 2024

Distribution and habitat

The tepui antpitta has a

disjunct distribution In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but considerably separated from each other geographically. The causes are varied and might demonstrate either the expansion or contraction of a s ...

in the

tepui A tepui , or tepuy (), is a member of a family of table-top mountains or mesas found in northern South America, especially in Venezuela, western Guyana, and northern Brazil. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the ...

region where southeastern and southern Venezuela, far northwestern Brazil, and far western Guyana meet. The subspecies are found thus: *''M. s. pacaraimae'': southeastern Amazonas and southern Bolívar states in Venezuela and in adjacent northwestern Brazil *''M. s. simplex''

Mount Roraima Mount Roraima (; ) is the highest of the Pacaraima chain of tepuis (table-top mountain) or plateaux in South America. It is located at the junction of Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela. A characteristic large flat-topped mountain surrounded by cliff ...

and the

Gran Sabana La Gran Sabana (, ) is a region in southeastern Venezuela, part of the Guianan savanna ecoregion. The savanna spreads into the regions of the Guiana Shield, Guiana Highlands and south-east into Bolívar, Venezuela, Bolívar State, extending fu ...

in southeastern Bolívar state and adjacent Guyana *''M. s. guaiquinimae'': several tepuis in northwestern and central Bolívar state *''M. s. duidae'': several tepuis in Amazonas state The tepui antpitta inhabits dense pre-montane

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

and

cloudforest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, ...

on the slopes of tepuis, and on their summits more open stunted forest. In elevation it ranges between but is mostly found above .

Behavior

Movement

The tepui antpitta is a year-round resident throughout its range.

Feeding

The tepui antpitta's diet and most aspects of its foraging behavior are unknown. It is almost entirely terrestrial, mostly foraging alone while hopping and running on the forest floor in dense mossy vegetation.

Breeding

The one known nest of the tepui antpitta was a cup of small sticks lined with smaller sticks and rootlets and placed in a ''

Philodendron linnaei ''Philodendron linnaei'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Araceae. It is native to wet tropical areas of South America. A hemi-epiphyte and climber with obovate The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the descri ...

''. It held two eggs that both adults were incubating. The incubation period, time to fledging, and other details of parental care are not known.

Vocalization

The tepui antpitta's song is "6-7 (occasionally more) low-pitched, deliberately paced, hollow notes, ''whu-whu-whu-WU-hu-hu'', 1st ones rising slightly in pitch and increasing in volume, last 2-3 on same pitch". It also "gives a low, hollow, rattle-trill".

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has assessed the tepui antpitta as being of Least Concern. Its population size is not known and is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified. It is considered uncommon to fairly common and occurs in several protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1262929 tepui antpitta Birds of the Tepuis tepui antpitta tepui antpitta tepui antpitta Taxonomy articles created by Polbot