The Auk 115(4):1072-1073, 1998

Rediscoveryof Hylopezus(macularius) auricularis: Distinctive Song and Habitat Indicate SpeciesRank

SJOERDMAIJER • TerMeulenplantsoen 20, 7524 CA Enschede,The Netherlands

The first four specimensof Hylopezus(macularius) I heardand sawthe speciesalong the shortroad (2 auricularis were collected in northern Bolivia in 1937 km) from Riberalta,departamento Beni, to Hambur- by AlfonsoM. Olalla, who wasleading an expedition go (11ø02'S,66ø06'W; elevation 135 m), which is undertakenby the RoyalNatural History Museumin where a ferry crossesthe R•o Benito Victoria(Vic- Stockholm, Sweden. The taxon first was described as toriais wherethe firstfour specimenswere collected a new species(Gyldenstolpe 1941), but later was in what is now departamentoPando). During three named as a subspeciesof the SpottedAntpitta (H. weeks of intensive birding around Riberalta, I did macularius;Gyldenstolpe 1945). not hearthe bird anywhereelse. J. V. Remsen(pers. On 5 April 1994,about 10 km from theoriginal col- comm.) saw auricularisin similar habitat ("low, lecting site,after playbackof a songunknown to me, dense,wet second-growth")in 1976between Lago a bird showedup that I describedin my notebookas Tumi Chucua and the Rio Beni (11ø07'S,66ø10'W), "a SpottedAntpitta with a big blackmask." In con- less than 20 km from the other two locations, but did sultingwith Mortonand PhyllisIsler, we concluded not realizethe significanceof the observation. that I had rediscoveredauricularis. A specimenwas Habitatsin the low-lying and muddy areawhere I collectedon 12 June1995, compared with the origi- foundthe bird are heavilydisturbed by people,and nal four specimensin Stockholm(and found to be- range from clay pits (for brick-making)to grassy longto the sametaxon; P. Ericsson pers. comm.), and openspaces to low secondaryforest. All of the birds depositedin the Natural History Museum "Noel that I heard sangfrom thicketsadjacent to openar- Kempff Mercado" in Santa Cruz, Bolivia (specimen eas.I did not hear singingbirds inside a muddy for- 1220). est, whereasat least two birds were singingat its The songis a long,fast, slightly descending series edge. However, a bird giving alarm callswas seenin- of short notes (Fig. 1; see also Mayer 1996, 1st re- side this forest,so it seemspossible that birds go cording). It resemblesthe song of the Amazonian from the forestinterior to the edge to sing. Other Antshrike (Thamnophilusamazonicus), but is louder. taxa within the H. maculariusgroup appearto occur Thesong is veryunlike the songsof othertaxa within primarily in terrafirme forest (M. and P. Isler pers. the Hylopezusmacularius species group (Fig. 2) and comm.),so its habitatsets auricularis apart. alsois unlike the songof any otherspecies of Hylo- The only other ground-dwellingantbird that I pezus(S. Maijer unpubl. data, Ridgely and Tudor found with auricularis was the Black-faced Antthrush 1994).I heard a call consistingof a quicksuccession (Formicariusanalis), which occurredwith auricularis of two or threemelodious notes followed by a short- er, lower-pitchednote (Fig.3A; seealso Mayer 1996, only insidethe forest.It maybe noteworthythat no- 2nd recording)and another consistingof a single where around Riberaltadid I hear the conspicuous note (Fig. 3B; see also Mayer 1996, 3rd recording). songof the AmazonianAntpitta (Hylopezusberlep- Bothcalls were alwaysheard at dusk and were the schi). last soundsof the day that I heard from the diurnal I recommendthat speciesrank be reconsideredfor birds in the area. The more elaboratecall (Fig. 3A) auricularison thebasis of its distinctiveplumage and also is used when the bird is alarmed. unique song,which is supportedby differencesin habitat with other taxa in the maculariusspecies group.I proposethe Englishname Masked Antpitta, E-mail: [email protected] basedon its distinctiveplumage character.

FIG.1. Songof Hylopezus(macularius) auricularis recorded in responseto playback,1 April 1994,Riberalta, Beni, Bolivia (11ø02'S,66ø06'W).

1072 October1998] ShortCommunications 1073

1 kHz

A A 8

FIG. 3. Calls of Hylopezus(macularius) auricularis. (A) Excited bird at 1000, 12 June1995. (B) Bird at 1845 (dusk), 28 March 1994.Both recordingsmade at Ri- beralta, Beni, Bolivia (11ø02'S,66ø06'W).

Acknowledgments.--Ithank Bernard Geling and DouglasKnapp for greatcompany in Riberalta;Billy 0 1 2 Taborgafor collectingmy specimen;Per Ericsson for comparingmy specimenwith the four originalspec- lkHz imens;Morton and PhyllisIsler, Torben Dabelsteen, JonFjelds•, and Bent-OttoPoulsen for other help; and the recordistsfor their recordings.

LITERATURE CITED

GYLDENSTOLPE,N. 1941. Preliminarydiagnoses of c some new birds from Bolivia. Arkiv for Zoologi 33B, No. 13. GYLDENSTOLPE,N. 1945. A contribution to the orni- FIG.2. Songsof other taxa within the Hylopezus maculariuscomplex. (A) H. m. macularius,25 Febru- thology of northern Bolivia. KunglicaSvenska ary 1996, Serra do Navio, Amap•, Brazil (01ø00'N, VetenskapsakademiensHandlingar Series 3, No. 52ø20'W),recorded after playbackby Tom Gullick; 23(1). MAYER, S. 1996. Bird sounds of Bolivia [Sonidos de bird was not collected.(B) H. m. paraensis,25 Septem- ber 1996, Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso,Brazil (09ø41'S, Aves de Bolivia; CD-ROM]. Bird SongsInterna- 55ø54'W),recorded by Andrew Whittaker;bird was tional BeslotenVennootschap, Westernieland, The Netherlands. not collected. (C) PresumedH. m. diversa,21 August RIDGELY,R. S., AND G. TUDOR. 1994. The birds of 1985, Pithecia Biological Station, Peru, (05ø05'S, 74ø35'W),recorded after playbackby Robert Ridge- SouthAmerica, vol. 2. The suboscinepasserines. ly; bird was not observed. University of TexasPress, Austin. Received17 January1997, accepted 20 May 1998. AssociateEditor: J. S. Marks