The white-browed antpitta (''Hylopezus ochroleucus'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

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

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The white-browed antpitta is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

. However, for a time in the mid-twentieth century what is now the speckle-breasted antpitta (''Cryptopezus nattereri'') was treated as a subspecies of it. They were separated following a 1995 publication that detailed differences in their vocalizations, plumage, and habitat.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 July 28, 2024Whitney, B. M., J. F. Pacheco, P. R. Isler, and M. L. Isler (1995). ''Hylopezus nattereri'' (Pinto, 1937) is a valid species (Passeriformes: Formicariidae). Ararajuba 3:37–42.

Description

The white-browed antpitta is long and weighs about . The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have white to buffy white lores. They have a white to buffy white streak with thin black borders behind the eye. Their ear

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are small feathers behind t ...

are buffy olive or grayish olive with faint white streaks. Their forehead, crown, and nape are gray-olive and their upperparts and tail are olive-gray. Their flight feathers are a brownish olive-gray with ochraceous edges on the front of the

primaries Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

. Their wing coverts are dark with light buff tips. Their throat is white with a black line down from the bill. Their breast is mostly white with darker streaks and spots and their central belly and undertail coverts are pale buff or whitish. The rest of their underparts, sides, and flanks are buffy ochraceous. They have a dark brown iris, a black bill with a paler 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 pink to grayish pink legs and feet.Greeney, H. F. (2020). White-browed Antpitta (''Hylopezus ochroleucus''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.whbant7.01 retrieved September 14, 2024

Distribution and habitat

The white-browed antpitta is found in the

caatinga Caatinga () is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" comes from the Tupi word '' ka'atinga'', meaning "white forest" or "white vegetat ...

region of eastern Brazil from western

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

south into northern

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – ) is one of the states of Brazil, the List of Brazilian states by area, third largest by area, located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible ...

. It primarily inhabits the understory of

semi-deciduous Semi-deciduous or semi-evergreen is a botanical term which refers to plants that lose their foliage for a very short period, when old leaves fall off and new foliage growth is starting. This phenomenon occurs in tropical and sub-tropical wood ...

woodland but also inhabits deciduous woodlands. In elevation it occurs between .

Behavior

Movement

The white-browed antpitta is believed to be resident throughout its range.

Feeding

The white-browed antpitta's diet has not been detailed but is assumed to consist of

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

s, earthworms, and other small invertebrates. It forages while walking and hopping on the forest floor, seeking prey by probing into leaf litter and soil.

Breeding

Nothing is known about the white-browed antpitta's breeding biology.

Vocalization

The white-browed antpitta's song is a "series in 3 parts, 1st ascending, 2nd with double-noted notes, last 3-noted, sounding like 'piupiu-piupiu tetju tetju tetju tetjutu' ". The species sings from a low perch within thick foliage.

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 ...

originally in 2004 assessed the white-browed antpitta as Near Threatened and since 2022 as being of Least Concern. It has a large range; its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. "Deforestation of caatinga for timber extraction and agricultural expansion, as well as understorey degradation by intensive grazing, must have adversely affected the species. The extent of these threats has accelerated since c.1970." It is known from only a few protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q627142 white-browed antpitta Birds of the Caatinga Endemic birds of Brazil white-browed antpitta Taxonomy articles created by Polbot