Chestnut-vented Conebill (Conirostrum speciosum)

Identification & Behavior: ~10.5 cm (4.1 in). The male Chestnut-vented Conebill is all bluish gray above and whitish gray below with chestnut undertail coverts. The female has a yellow-olive back and bluish-gray head. The throat and rest of the underparts are buffy gray. Both sexes have a sharp conical bill. It forages in pairs in fairly young second growth along forest edges and river-created habitats. It is similar to the Bicolored Conebill and Pearly-vented Conebill, but their ranges are not known to overlap.

Status: The Chestnut-vented Conebill is uncommon along the foothill of the Andes and adjacent lowlands at elevations ranging between 350-900 m. It also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Pico-de-Cono de Subcaudales Castañas.

Sub-species: Chestnut-vented Conebill. (Conirostrum speciosum amazonum), (Hellmayr), 1917.  E Colombia (S to Meta and N Vichada); E Ecuador and E Peru; and N Brazil (NE Roraima, E Amazonas and W, C & NE Pará).
(Conirostrum speciosum speciosum), (Temminck), 1824.  SE Peru and Bolivia (except W) E across SC Brazil (to Maranhão, S to Mato Grosso, Paraná and São Paulo), Paraguay and NW & NE Argentina (Jujuy; E Formosa, N Corrientes and Misiones).

Meaning of Name: Conirostrum: L. conus= cone and rostrum= bill. speciosum: L. speciosus= splendid, beautiful, brilliant.

See more of the Family Thraupidae