The chestnut-crowned gnateater (''Conopophaga castaneiceps'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family

Conopophagidae The gnateaters are a bird family, Conopophagidae, consisting of ten small passerine species in two genera, which occur in South and Central America. The family was formerly restricted to the gnateater genus ''Conopophaga''; analysis of mtDNA cy ...

. It is found in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

, and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The position of the chestnut-crowned gnateater in linear format is unsettled. The

International Ornithological Committee The International Ornithologists' Union, formerly known as the International Ornithological Committee, is a group of about 200 international ornithologists, and is responsible for the International Ornithological Congress and other international ...

(IOC) and the

Clements taxonomy ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'' is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world. The most recent printed version is the sixth edition (2007), but has been updated yearly, the last version in 2022 ...

place it differently within the gnateater family.Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 15, 2019 Four

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are recognized, though birds on the western slope of Colombia's Central Andes might be an unnamed taxonWhitney, B. (2020). Chestnut-crowned Gnateater (''Conopophaga castaneiceps''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.chcgna1.01 retrieved May 7, 2021: *''C. c. chocoensis'' Chapman (1915) *''C. c. castaneiceps''

Sclater Philip Lutley Sclater (4 November 1829 – 27 June 1913) was an English lawyer and zoologist. In zoology, he was an expert ornithologist, and identified the main zoogeographic regions of the world. He was Secretary of the Zoological Society o ...

(1857) *''C. c. chapmani'' Carriker (1933) *''C. c. brunneinucha'' von Berlepsch & Stolzmann (1896)

Description

The chestnut-crowned gnateater is long. The mean weight of seven specimens was . The male of the nominate subspecies has brown upper parts; a gray face, throat, and chest; and orange-brown flanks and vent area. The top of the head is orange-red and there is a white tuft behind the eye. ''C. c. chapmani'' has a brighter (less brown) crown. ''C. c. brunneinuchas orange-red is only the forehead; it is darker overall and has a white patch on the belly. ''C. c. chocoensis'' is similar to ''brunneinucha'' but is smaller, has less gray, has a more olive tinge to the back, and more orange-red on the crown. The female's head and chest are orange-red and the belly is whitish. The white plume behind the eye is smaller than that of the male.

Distribution and habitat

The chestnut-crowned gnateater occurs in discontinuous areas from central Colombia to south-central Peru. ''C. c. chocoensis'' is found in Colombia on the western slope of the Western Andes and in the

Serranía del Baudó The Serranía del Baudó is a coastal mountain range on the Pacific coast of Colombia. It is separated from the West Andes by the Atrato valley where the Atrato River flows and Quibdó is located. From the south the range extends from the Baud� ...

of western

Chocó Department Choco Department is a department of Western Colombia known for its large Afro-Colombian population. It is in the west of the country, and is the only Colombian department to have coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. It ...

. ''C. c. castaneiceps'' is found in Colombia's Central and Eastern Andes and into Ecuador. ''C. c. chapmani'' is found on the east slope of the Andes from southern Ecuador to the

Department of San Martín San Martín () is a department and region in northern Peru. Most of the department is located in the upper part of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. Its capital is Moyobamba and the largest city in the department is Tarapoto. Geography Boundar ...

in northern Peru. ''C. c. brunneinucha'' is found on the east slope of the Peruvian Andes from

Huánuco Huánuco (; qu, Wanuku) is a city in central Peru. It had a population of 196,627 as of 2017 and in 2015 it had a population of 175,068. It is the capital of the Huánuco Region and the Huánuco District. It is the seat of the diocese of Huán ...

south to

Cuzco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru; ...

. It inhabits subtropical and tropical

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

. Though it lives in the forest interior, it prefers smaller vegetation there in openings such as regrowing landslides. It ranges in elevation mostly between but has been found as low as in Colombia and Ecuador and as high as about in Peru.

Behavior

Feeding

The chestnut-crowned gnateater forages for

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

s in leaf litter and foliage on and near the ground.

Breeding

Little is known about the chestnut-crowned gnateater's breeding

phenology Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonality, seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as environmental factor, habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples includ ...

. A nest found in February in Colombia was a hidden cup placed less than above ground. Birds were noted in breeding condition between March and June in Colombia's Central Andes.

Vocalization

The chesnut-crowned gnateater's song is "a series of frog-like, slightly disyllabic notes" that accelerate and get louder after the first one or two note

Its calls include a "harsh 'zhiek!'�

and a "lower 'schek'�

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed the chestnut-crowned gnateater as being of Least Concern. It is not common in parts of its range but does occur in at least one protected area. It might benefit from the dense vegetation that grows in human-disturbed areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q902710

chestnut-crowned gnateater The chestnut-crowned gnateater (''Conopophaga castaneiceps'') is a species of bird in the family Conopophagidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Taxonomy and systematics The position of the chestnut-crowned gnateater in linear fo ...

Birds of the Colombian Andes Birds of the Northern Andes

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot