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Black-crowned Antpitta | Pittasoma michleri
Zwartkruinmierpitta | Tororoí capinegro
The Black-crowned Antpitta is a large, plump ground bird of humid forest, with long legs, an almost absent tail and a heavy bill. The black crown, chestnut cheeks and heavily black-scaled white underparts make it recognisable. It is not a true antpitta but belongs to the gnateater family. In the guide area it lives only in Costa Rica and Panama.
Voice
A long series of clear, whistled notes at roughly the same pitch; also short, sharp calls. Mainly heard in the early morning.
Recording: Scott Olmstead — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · shortened to the first 60 s, mono · xeno-canto
Identification
16–18 cm; tail very short. Crown and nape glossy black, cheeks and side of head chestnut. Upperparts olive-brown, wing coverts with small pale buff spots. Underparts white with dense, broad black scales and bars. Bill heavy and dark, legs long and grey.
Confusion species
Scaled Antpitta Grallaria guatimalensis lives mainly in montane forest and has scaled upperparts and warm ochre-brown underparts without black-and-white scaling. Streak-chested Antpitta Hylopezus perspicillatus is smaller, with a pale eye-ring and a white breast with black streaks rather than scales.
Habitat
Floor and understorey of humid evergreen lowland and foothill forest, especially in hilly terrain, to about 1200 m. It hops across the forest floor and regularly follows army-ant swarms to catch flushed insects; it also takes other invertebrates and small vertebrates.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of Mexico and Central America.
Range and movements
Costa Rica (mainly the Caribbean slope) and Panama. Outside the guide area in north-western Colombia.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
The best chance is at army-ant swarms in undisturbed forest. The bird keeps low between the trunks and often slips away when disturbed.
Conservation status
Not threatened. Scarce and inconspicuous; depends on continuous humid forest.
Scientific name
Pittasoma michleri | Cassin, 1860
Cassin described the species in 1860 and placed it straight away in the genus where it still stands. He introduced the genus Pittasoma in that same work. Pittasoma combines the genus Pitta with Greek sōma 'body': 'pitta-bodied', after the stocky, short-tailed build. michleri honours Nathaniel Michler (1827–1881), US Army engineer who in 1858 led the expedition that collected the species in the Darién region. The specimen the first description was based on came from Río Truandó, Chocó, Colombia.