Chestnut-belted Gnateater (Conopophaga aurita)

Identification & Behavior: ~11.5 cm (4.5 in). The male Chestnut-breasted Gnateater has brown upperparts and crown. The face, throat, and sides of the head are black. It has a broad white post-ocular stripe/tuft. The breast and sides of the underparts are chestnut. The center of the belly is pale. The female is similar, but has less saturated colors, less conspicuous white post ocular stripe/tuft, and lacks the black throat and sides of the head. Gnateaters have a roundish body with a short tail and long legs. It forages on or near the ground in Terra Firme forest. The female is similar to a female Ash-throated Gnateater but has a plain brown mantle versus a patterned scaled pattern on the female Ash-throated Gnateater.

Status: The Chestnut-breasted Gnateater is uncommon to rare on the east side of the Ucayali and east side of the Napo Rivers. It also occurs in Co, Ec, and Br.

Name in Spanish: Jejenero de Faja Castaña.

Sub-species: Chestnut-belted Gnateater (Conopophaga aurita occidentalis) C. Chubb, 1917.  NE Ecuador and NE Peru (E of R Napo).
(Conopophaga aurita australis), Todd, 1927.  S of R Amazon from NE Peru (S to Ucayali) to W Brazil (E to R Madeira, S to N Acre and N Rondônia); population E of R Madeira in NW Rondônia provisionally placed here.

Meaning of Name: Conopophaga: Gr. kōnōps, kōnōpos= gnat and phagos, phagein= eating, to eat. aurita: L. auri, auritus= ear, eared.

Go to the Family Conopophagidae