Rufous Gnateater
Encyclopedia
The Rufous Gnateater is a passerine
bird
of the gnateater
family, Conopophagidae. It is found in forest understory and bushes in eastern Brazil
from Rio Grande do Sul
north to Ceará
. Its range also extends into eastern Paraguay
and north-eastern Argentina
and it has recently been recorded in Uruguay
. It is often elusive and hard to see, but is commoner and less shy than other gnateaters.
It is a small, rounded bird, 13cm in length with a short tail and fairly long legs. The plumage
is mostly reddish-brown. There is a white stripe above the eye (grey in the female) which ends in a tuft of feathers which can be hidden. The call is a series of quiet cheeps which become faster and higher-pitched. At dusk and dawn the males make a buzzing sound with their wing feathers as they fly around their territory.
The Rufous Gnateater feeds by moving quickly from one perch to another through undergrowth close to the ground. When it sees an insect
it makes a short flight down to the ground or to overhead leaves to catch it.
The cup-shaped nest
is built in a tree and made of sticks and moss. The female lays two buff-coloured egg
s, oval or slightly conical in shape.
The number of subspecies
is unclear, but provisionally three are typically recognized: C. l. lineata, C. l.vulgaris and C. l. cearae. The last of these is restricted to north-eastern Brazil, and is distinctive both vocally and morphologically
, it being a deeper, more orange-buff colour and lacking (or almost lacking) the white crescent found on the lower throat/upper chest of the remaining subspecies. It has been suggested that it should be considered a separate species, the Caatinga Gnateater or Ceará Gnateater (Conopophaga cearae).
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
of the gnateater
Gnateater
The gnateaters are a bird family, Conopophagidae, consisting of ten small passerine species in two genera, which occur in South and Central America...
family, Conopophagidae. It is found in forest understory and bushes in eastern Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
from Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
north to Ceará
Ceará
Ceará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...
. Its range also extends into eastern Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
and north-eastern Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and it has recently been recorded in Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. It is often elusive and hard to see, but is commoner and less shy than other gnateaters.
It is a small, rounded bird, 13cm in length with a short tail and fairly long legs. The plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
is mostly reddish-brown. There is a white stripe above the eye (grey in the female) which ends in a tuft of feathers which can be hidden. The call is a series of quiet cheeps which become faster and higher-pitched. At dusk and dawn the males make a buzzing sound with their wing feathers as they fly around their territory.
The Rufous Gnateater feeds by moving quickly from one perch to another through undergrowth close to the ground. When it sees an insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
it makes a short flight down to the ground or to overhead leaves to catch it.
The cup-shaped nest
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
is built in a tree and made of sticks and moss. The female lays two buff-coloured egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s, oval or slightly conical in shape.
The number of subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
is unclear, but provisionally three are typically recognized: C. l. lineata, C. l.vulgaris and C. l. cearae. The last of these is restricted to north-eastern Brazil, and is distinctive both vocally and morphologically
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
, it being a deeper, more orange-buff colour and lacking (or almost lacking) the white crescent found on the lower throat/upper chest of the remaining subspecies. It has been suggested that it should be considered a separate species, the Caatinga Gnateater or Ceará Gnateater (Conopophaga cearae).
External links
- Rufous Gnateater videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Rufous Gnateater photo gallery VIREO