Grallariidae

Grallariidae, the antpittas, is a family of smallish suboscine passerine birds of subtropical and tropical Central and South America comprising 68 species across five genera, Grallaria with 47 species, Cryptopezus, Hylopezus, Myrmothera and Grallaricula. The family was originally classified within Formicariidae, but molecular genetic studies beginning in 2002 showed that family to be non-monophyletic, and in 2008 the American Ornithologists Union reorganized the group, establishing Grallariidae as its own family for the antpittas. Antpittas measure 10 to 20 centimeters long, with notably long powerful legs that give them an upright stance and essentially vestigial tails, plumage in drab shades of rusty brown, black and white, and sexes that look alike; nearly tailless like the true pittas they resemble, they forage in forest at or near ground level, often as ant followers, hopping in a manner recalling some thrushes, and are much easier to hear than to see. They lay one to six eggs in nests built in trees, with both sexes sharing incubation.