Jocotoco Antpitta Grallaria ridgelyi

Jocotoco Antpitta is a striking species of antpitta, not only because of its massive size, but also because of the broad snowy white malar stripe that contrasts sharply with the glossy black crown. Amazingly, this large and very distinctive species was not discovered by ornithologists until 1997. Following this discovery, it has been found at only a handful of locations, including one locality in extreme northern Peru just across the border from the original collection locality. With an extremely small known range and with its montane cloudforest habitat under continued threat of deforestation, Jocotoco Antpitta is considered globally Endangered. Very little is known of its natural history, but its nest was recently discovered by biologists working inside the Jocotoco Foundation reserve at Tapichalaca, created to preserve habitat at the type locality of this amazing antpitta.