Moustached Antpitta

Grallaria antpittas are a "wonderful group of plump and round antbirds whose feathers are often fluffed up...they have stout bills [and] very short tails". The moustached antpitta is 16.5 to 17 cm (6.5 to 6.7 in) long; two males weighed 64 and 77 g (2.3 and 2.7 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a light olive brown forecrown and a slate gray crown and nape with thin blackish edges on the feathers. They have white lores, olive brown ear coverts, and a wide white "moustache" with thin black streaks in it. Their upperparts are dark rufescent brown to olive brown with thin blackish edges on the feathers that give a faint scaly appearance. Their tail is rufous chestnut to deep tawny. Their chin and throat are rufescent brown with a white crescent below the throat. Their breast is olive brown with thin white streaks and their belly is buffy white. Subspecies G. a. andaquiensis is browner than the nominate and has an ochraceous belly. Both subspecies have a dark brown iris, a black bill, and vinaceous gray legs and feet.

The moustached antpitta has a disjunct distribution. The nominate subspecies is found in the northern and central parts of Colombia's Western Andes and on the western slope of the Central Andes. Subspecies G. a. andaquiensis is found in the upper Magdalena River Valley in Colombia and on both slopes of the Andes in Ecuador as far south as Cotopaxi and Napo provinces. The species inhabits the understory of humid montane forest, where it favors dense undergrowth in ravines and steep slopes.

The moustached antpitta is one of several antpittas that regularly come to feeding stations set up to allow viewing them. There they are fed earthworms and similar invertebrates, which are thought to also be a large part of their natural diet. In the wild they are known to feed on arthropods though details are lacking. They are highly terrestrial, seldom being seen more than 3 m (10 ft) above the ground.