Crescent-faced Antpitta

"Grallaricula are very small Andean antpittas, found mostly in low dense vegetation (such as treefall gaps, stream edges, and bamboo thickets)." The crescent-faced antpitta is 11 to 12 cm (4.3 to 4.7 in) long and weighs 17 to 22 g (0.60 to 0.78 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have the eponymous white crescent from the crown through the lores and almost to the throat and a small white spot behind the eye. Their crown and nape are dark sooty gray and their face black. The crescent's bottom becomes ochraceous buff and they have a spot of that color on the side of their neck. Their upperparts are brownish olive. Their wings and tail are browner than their back with whitish or light yellow-buff on the leading edge of the outermost primary. The center of their chin and upper throat are white with black stripes between them and the crescent. Their underparts are mostly white with a strong ochraceous buff wash and black stripes. Their sides and flanks are dull brownish olive with an ochraceous buff wash and faint dark gray stripes. Their undertail coverts are ochraceous buff. Both sexes have a dark brown iris, a black bill, and vinaceous gray to blue-gray legs and feet.

The crescent-face antpitta is found in scattered locations in Colombia's Central Andes from Quindío Department south on the eastern Andean slope to Loja Province in southern Ecuador. It inhabits the undergrowth of humid forest, both cloudforest and elfin forest near but not past treeline. It does not appear to be as closely associated with bamboo as many other Grallaricula antpittas. Though earlier publications gave a lower elevation limit of 1,800 m (5,900 ft), more recent and more detailed studies show it occurs almost entirely above 2,900 m (9,500 ft). It reaches at least 3,700 m (12,100 ft) in Colombia and 3,500 m (11,500 ft) in Ecuador.

The crescent-faced antpitta is one of several antpittas that regularly come to feeding stations set up to view them. There they are fed earthworms, which are thought to also be a large part of their natural diet. In the wild they also feed on insects, spiders, and other arthropods, though details are lacking. It typically forages singly or in pairs, hopping through dense foliage and much less frequently on the ground. It gleans prey from foliage from a perch or by short reaches and sallies, and captures prey from leaf litter on the ground.