Meet Dorita: A New Plain-backed Antpitta Now Coming to the Feeder at Doña Dora

A famously shy forest bird, habituated in record time — and now photographed and enjoyed by visiting birders near Cali

Quick Facts: Plain-backed Antpitta

Exciting news from Doña Dora

We have wonderful news for anyone planning a birding trip to Colombia: a new Plain-backed Antpitta (Grallaria haplonota) is now coming to the feeder at Doña Dora, one of the star hotspots of the Western Andes near Cali. In fact there are two individuals — and the family at Doña Dora has affectionately named her Dorita. For birders, this is a big deal, because antpittas are among the hardest birds in the Neotropics to actually see.

If you've ever tried to lay eyes on an antpitta in the wild, you know the frustration: a haunting voice from deep in the undergrowth, and almost never a view. To have one walking into the open at a feeder is one of the great joys of modern birding in Cali, Colombia — and now Doña Dora has joined the small club of places where it happens.

The story: habituated in just four days

What makes Dorita's story remarkable isn't only that she comes to a feeder — it's how quickly it happened. Habituating a wild antpitta, teaching a deeply shy forest bird to trust a person and accept offered worms, usually takes weeks or even months of patient work. Dorita was won over in just four days, by the skilled hands of Carlos Mario Aranzázu, who habituated her in record time.

Here's how it unfolded:

1.    Finding the spot. When Carlos arrived, the family showed him exactly where the antpitta was being heard — and occasionally glimpsed — along with the time of day it was most active.

2.    The location. It was on the first part of the trail toward the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock lek, before the moth station near their methane-gas reservoir — classic damp, steep forest-floor habitat that Plain-backed Antpittas love.

3.    The magic. Carlos worked his craft, and within four days the antpitta was already coming in to eat worms — an astonishingly fast result for such a wary species.

4.    Building trust. After continuing the feeding process and gradually getting her used to people, Dorita is now regularly photographed and observed by visitors to Doña Dora.

Meet the species: the Plain-backed Antpitta

The Plain-backed Antpitta is a plump, round, almost tailless bird of humid montane forest — about 16–17 cm long, warm brown above with a subtly scaled face and buffy underparts. Like all antpittas, it's built for a life on the forest floor.

•       A ground-dweller: highly terrestrial, it walks and hops across the leaf litter, pausing to stab into soft soil for earthworms — exactly the behavior you'll see at the feeder.

•       A voice more than a view: in the wild it favors steep slopes, creek edges and treefall gaps, where it's far more often heard than seen.

•       A Pacific-slope bird here: the western-Andes population ranges along the Choó slope from Colombia southward — the very foothills where Doña Dora sits, making Dorita a bird right at home in her habitat.

Doña Dora: even more reason to visit

Doña Dora was already one of the most beloved feeder stations in the Western Andes near Cali, famous for the Toucan Barbet (Semnornis ramphastinus), colorful Choó-slope tanagers and hummingbirds, and the nearby Andean Cock-of-the-Rock lek. Now, with Dorita, it adds a habituated antpitta to that line-up — a rare combination of star birds in one Pacific-foothill morning.

It's one of the 8 hotspots reachable as a day trip from Yotoco Lodge, and a highlight of any bird photography visit to the region.

See Dorita from your Western Andes basecamp

Doña Dora is a day trip from our birding basecamp in the Western Andes of Colombia at Km 26. From Yotoco Lodge, we can plan a morning at Doña Dora for Dorita, the Toucan Barbet and the Cock-of-the-Rock — then return to the lodge for our own unique feeders.

•       Central to 8 hotspots: Doña Dora and its antpitta are an easy day trip from Km 26.

•       Our own unique feeders: the hand-feeding Apical Flycatcher (Caleño) and the Whiskered Wren station, back at the lodge.

•       Expert local guiding: we know the best time to catch Dorita in the open — timing is everything with antpittas.

•       Birder-exclusive & comfortable: capped at 10 guests, with trips quoted personally, making Yotoco Lodge the best birding lodge near Cali, Colombia to base your visit.

Practical information

Related articles

•       A Day Birding at Doña Dora

•       The Best Birding Hotspots Near Cali, Colombia: A Complete Guide

•       The Western Andes Near Cali: Colombia's Rising Bird Photography Cluster

•       Why the Whiskered Wren Is So Special at a Feeder