Conopophaga is a genus of birds in the gnateater family. Its members are found in forest and woodland in South America.
Taxonomy and species list
The genus Conopophaga was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot. The name combines the Ancient Greek kōnōps meaning "gnat" with -phagos meaning "-eating". The type species was subsequently designated as the chestnut-belted gnateater by George Robert Gray in 1840. The genus now contains ten species, all with "gnateater" in their common names.
Image
Scientific name
Common name
Distribution
Rufous gnateater
Conopophaga lineata
eastern Brazil from Rio Grande do Sul north to central Brazil
Chestnut-belted gnateater
Conopophaga aurita
Amazonia and the Guianas
Black-breasted gnateater
Conopophaga snethlageae
Amazonian Brazil.
Hooded gnateater
Conopophaga roberti
northern Brazil
Ash-throated gnateater
Conopophaga peruviana
western Amazon Basin of Brazil, Peru and Ecuador
Ceará gnateater
Conopophaga cearae
Brazilian states: Ceará, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande Do Norte, and Alagoas
Slaty gnateater
Conopophaga ardesiaca
Yungas of Bolivia and eastern Peru
Chestnut-crowned gnateater
Conopophaga castaneiceps
Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru
Black-cheeked gnateater
Conopophaga melanops
Brazil
Black-bellied gnateater
Conopophaga melanogaster
Amazon Basin of Brazil and northern Bolivia
Distribution and habitat
Gnateaters are birds found in the undergrowth of forest, woodland, and bamboo stands, with most species in the Amazon Basin, the Atlantic Forest, and the East Andean slopes. All are associated with dense thickets. While they are always found near the ground, seldom rising more than 1.5 m up, they also seldom travel or spend much time on the ground itself (though they do feed there; see diet).
They are round, short-tailed, and long-legged birds, about 12–16 cm (4.5–6.5 in) in length. They are quite upright when standing. They are sexually dimorphic, with various shades of brown, rufous,...
