Published: June 22, 2012
Text by Jaqueline Fortuna
The new species of Antpitta from Amazonian Brazil was described in The Auk 129(2):338-351, April 2012 by Goeldi Museum researchers. In 2007 Andrew Whittaker discovered this new unnamed Antpitta which he mentioned in his papers from 2008 and 2009. Then Goeldi researchers added more molecular, morphology and vocal data to confirm this new species. The Alta Floresta Antpitta (
Hylopezus whittakeri) is a Brazilian endemic found in terra-firme forest, south of the Amazon between the Madeira river east to the Xingu river. Please note the scientific name was given in honor of Andrew Whittaker, an English ornithologist who moved to Brazil some decades ago who fell in love with the Amazon and has helped the scientific knowledge of Brazilian birds through his extensive fieldwork during countless expeditions as a birding guide for Victor Emanuel Nature Tours and his own company Birding Brazil Tours.
Read the paper abstract here SYSTEMATIC REVISION OF THE SPOTTED ANTPITTA HYLOPEZUS MACULARIUS (GRALLARIIDAE), WITH DESCRIPTION OF A CRYPTIC NEW SPECIES FROM BRAZILIAN AMAZONIA
Check the Alta Floresta Antpitta singing on our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPlDq3JWgz4&feature=g-upl
