View source for Muisca antpitta

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2024}}

{{Speciesbox
| image = 
| image_alt = 
| image_caption = 
<!-- Not relevant - this IUCN assessment includes several taxa as subspecies that IOC and Clements treat as separate species. See "Status" section.
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref =<ref name="iucn status 13 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2017 |title=''Grallaria rufula'' |volume=2017 |page=e.T103660383A118546700 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T103660383A118546700.en |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref>
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| genus = Grallaria
| species = rufula
| parent = Grallaria rufula complex
| authority = [[Frédéric de Lafresnaye|Lafresnaye]], 1843
| synonyms = 
| synonyms_ref = 
}}

The '''Muisca antpitta''' ('''''Grallaria rufula''' sensu stricto'') is a [[bird]] in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Grallariidae]]. The species was [[Species description|first described]] by [[Frédéric de Lafresnaye]] in 1843. It was formerly called the [[rufous antpitta]], which in 2020 was found to be a [[species complex]] composed of as many as 15 species, some of which were newly described.<ref name=Isler2020>{{Cite journal|last1=Isler|first1=Morton L.|last2=Chesser|first2=R. Terry|last3=Robbins|first3=Mark B.|last4=Cuervo|first4=Andrés M.|last5=Cadena|first5=Carlos Daniel|last6=Hosner|first6=Peter A.|name-list-style=amp|date=21 July 2020|title=Taxonomic evaluation of the ''Grallaria rufula'' (Rufous Antpitta) complex (Aves: Passeriformes: Grallariidae) distinguishes sixteen species|url=https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4817.1.1|journal=[[Zootaxa]]|volume=4817|issue=1|pages=zootaxa.4817.1.1|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4817.1.1|pmid=33055681|s2cid=222829674 |issn=1175-5334}}</ref><ref name=SACClist>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</ref> It is found in the [[Andes]] of northern [[Colombia]] and western [[Venezuela]].<ref name=IOC14.2>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/antthrushes/ |title=Antthrushes, antpittas, gnateaters, tapaculos, crescentchests |website=IOC World Bird List |version =v 14.2 | editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen |date=August 2024 |access-date=19 August 2024 }}</ref>

==Taxonomy and systematics==

What is now the Muisca antpitta inherited the [[Binomial nomenclature|scientific name]] ''Grallaria rufula'' after the rufous antpitta's [[Taxonomic revision|taxonomic split]] because the [[type specimen]] for ''G. rufula'' had been found near [[Bogotá]] in what is now recognized as the Muisca antpitta's range. The species and subspecies resulting from the split and newly recognized taxa were separated based on [[plumage]], [[Bird vocalization|vocalization]]s, and [[Molecular phylogenetics|genetic evidence]].<ref name=Isler2020/>

In 2021 the [[International Ornithological Committee]] and the [[Clements taxonomy]] implemented the split of the rufous antpitta and accepted the newly described species. The revised ''Grallaria rufula'', now called the Muisca antpitta, has no subspecies and is thus [[Monotypic taxon|monotypic]] according to those taxonomies.<ref name=IOC11.2>Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2021. IOC World Bird List (v 11.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.11.2.  http://www.worldbirdnames.org/</ref><ref name=Clements2021>Clements, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/</ref> However, [[BirdLife International]]'s ''[[Handbook of the Birds of the World]]'' (HBW) did not fully implement the split. It retains the name rufous antpitta for ''Grallaria rufula'' and retains six of the seven previous subspecies within it. It had split only the former ''G. r. saltuensis'' as the [[Perija antpitta]] in 2018.<ref name=HBW8.1>HBW and BirdLife International (2024). Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 8.1. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/taxonomy retrieved 26 August 2024</ref><ref name=HBW3>HBW and BirdLife International (2018) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 3. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v3_Nov18.zip retrieved 10 November 2023</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Boesman|first=Peter|date=20 April 2016|title=Notes on the vocalizations of Perija Antpitta (''Grallaria saltuensis'')|url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/ornith-notes/JN100071|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=14 November 2020|website=birdsoftheworld.org|language=en}}</ref>

The species' new [[common name]] was chosen in 2020 for the [[Muisca|Muisca civilization]] of the eastern Andes, which continues to this day in contemporary Colombian society. The [[specific name (zoology)|specific epithet]], ''rufula'', comes from the [[Latin]] for 'red-headed' or [[rufous]].<ref name=Isler2020/>

This article follows the monotypic species model.

==Description==

''Grallaria'' antpittas are a "wonderful group of plump and round antbirds whose feathers are often fluffed up...they have stout bills [and] very short tails".<ref name=Ridgely2>{{cite book | last =Ridgely | first =Robert S. | last2 =Greenfield | first2 =Paul J. | title =The Birds of Ecuador: Field Guide | publisher =Cornell University Press | volume = II| date =2001 | location =Ithaca | pages =436–437| isbn =978-0-8014-8721-7 }}</ref> The Muisca antpitta is about {{convert|14|to|15|cm|in|abbr=on}} long; four individuals weighed {{convert|32|to|36|g|oz|abbr=on}}. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have rufous brown upperparts that are a slightly brighter rufous on their face, throat, and breast. Their underparts are mostly rufous brown with dark grayish rufous flanks, a paler rufous central belly, and white or buffy white lower belly and vent. Their undertail [[coverts]] can be whitish to buffy or brownish. Both sexes have a dark brown iris, a blackish bill with sometimes a paler base to the [[mandible]], and lead gray to blue-gray legs and feet.<ref name=MUAN-BOW>Greeney, H. F., A. J. Spencer, and G. M. Kirwan (2024). Muisca Antpitta (''Grallaria rufula''), version 2.0. In Birds of the World (B. K. Keeney and N. D. Sly, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rufant7.02 retrieved 8 September 2024</ref><ref name=McMullan>{{cite book | last1 =McMullan | first1 =Miles | last2 =Donegan | first2 =Thomas M. | last3 =Quevedo | first3 =Alonso |  title = Field Guide to the Birds of Colombia | publisher = Fundación ProAves| date =2010 | location =Bogotá | pages =143  |isbn =978-0-9827615-0-2 }}</ref><ref name=Hilty>{{cite book | last =Hilty | first =Steven L. | title =Birds of Venezuela | publisher =Princeton University Press | edition =second | date =2003 | location =Princeton NJ | pages =Plate 42 | language =English }}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==

The Muisca antpitta is found from [[Táchira]] state in western Venezuela south through north-central [[Colombia]] to [[Cundinamarca Department|Cundinamarca]] and western [[Meta Department|Meta]] departments. The species inhabits the floor and undergrowth of humid, mossy, [[epiphyte]]-laden [[montane forest]]. It favors areas with dense vegetation such as forest edges, regenerating treefalls and landslide scars, and thickets of ''[[Chusquea]]'' bamboo. It also occurs in ''[[Polylepis]]'' woodlands and nearby ''[[páramo]]''. In elevation it ranges between {{convert|1850|and|3800|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Isler2020/><ref name=MUAN-BOW/><ref name=McMullan/><ref name=Hilty/>{{overcite|date=October 2024}}

It is separated from the closely related Perija antpitta by the [[Serranía de Los Motilones]] mountain range, and it is separated from most of the [[Equatorial antpitta]] (''G. saturata'') population by the [[Magdalena River|Magdalena river]] valley.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Chesser|first1=R. Terry|last2=Isler|first2=Morton L.|last3=Cuervo|first3=Andrés M.|last4=Cadena|first4=C. Daniel|last5=Galen|first5=Spencer C.|last6=Bergner|first6=Laura M.|last7=Fleischer|first7=Robert C.|last8=Bravo|first8=Gustavo A.|last9=Lane|first9=Daniel F.|last10=Hosner|first10=Peter A.|name-list-style=amp|date=1 July 2020|title=Conservative plumage masks extraordinary phylogenetic diversity in the ''Grallaria rufula'' (Rufous Antpitta) complex of the humid Andes|journal=[[The Auk]]|volume=137|issue=3|doi=10.1093/auk/ukaa009|issn=0004-8038|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Behavior==

===Movement===

The Muisca antpitta is assumed to be resident throughout its range.<ref name=MUAN-BOW/>

===Feeding===

The Muisca antpitta's diet has not been detailed but is known to include insects, snails, and earthworms. It forages by running or hopping on the forest floor and stopping to find prey by flipping aside leaf litter and probing the soil.<ref name=MUAN-BOW/>

===Breeding===

Nothing is known about the Muisca antpitta's breeding biology.<ref name=MUAN-BOW/>

{{birdsong|url=https://xeno-canto.org/species/Grallaria-rufula  |species=the Muisca antpitta}}
===Vocalization===

The Muisca antpitta's long song is "a drawn out series of clear whistles with a slightly clipped sound...lasting a total of ~6–11 seconds" and accelerates at the end. It also has a short song, "a thin, clear whistle lasting ~0.75 s...followed by a pause and then a lower, fast liquid trill of about the same length".<ref name=MUAN-BOW/>

==Status==

The [[IUCN]] follows HBW taxonomy and so has not assessed ''Grallaria rufula'' as the Muisca antpitta but rather as the former rufous antpitta with six subspecies.<ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2017 |title=Rufous Antpitta ''Grallaria rufula'' |volume=2017 |page=e.T103660383A118546700 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T103660383A118546700.en |access-date=8 September 2024}}</ref> "Although its range is reasonably large, most portions of it are under serious threat of deforestation and habitat alteration. It is, however, known to occur within a fair number of conservation areas."<ref name=MUAN-BOW/> 

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q104870381|from2=Q27617813}}

[[Category:Grallaria]]
[[Category:Birds of the Colombian Andes]]
[[Category:Birds of the Venezuelan Andes]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1843]]

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The [[Perijá antpitta]] is already rated [[Endangered species|endangered]] by the IUCN.<ref>{{Cite iucn|date=1 October 2016|title=''Grallaria saltuensis'': BirdLife International|doi=10.2305/iucn.uk.2016-3.rlts.t103660400a104036848.en|doi-access=free}}</ref> -->