Rufous Casiornis Casiornis rufus Scientific name definitions

The Rufous Casiornis has a wide range over central South America, from northern Argentina in the south north as far as the Amazon. Although it is generally considered to be an austral migrant to the majority of its perceived Amazonian range, some records from this region are from the austral summer, posing the question as to whether some birds might spend the whole year, and even breed, well north of the main breeding range. This is a mid-sized tyrant flycatcher with largely rufous plumage, relieved by slightly darker wings, and paler posterior underparts. The bill is largely pale with a darker tip. In the past, the Rufous Casiornis was sometimes considered to be conspecific with its only congeneric, the Ash-throated Casiornis (Casiornis fuscus), but the two species have recently been discovered to breed in sympatry with no evidence of intergradation.

N & E Bolivia (SE from Beni and La Paz), SC Brazil (S Mato Grosso E to N Goiás and C Minas Gerais, S to Mato Grosso do Sul and São Paulo; recently reported from SW Rio Grande do Sul (1 Vizentin-Bugoni, J., Bellagamba-Oliveira, D., Bellagamba, G., Oliveira, R.O., Jacobs, F., Ritter, R. and Dias, R.A. (2015). First records of Casiornis rufus (Vieillot, 1816) (Aves, Tyrannidae) for the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Check List 11(3): 1664. Close ) ), Paraguay and N Argentina (S to Tucumán, E Chaco and N Corrientes). Also small numbers N to NE Brazil (Maranhão, S Amapá) and W to SE Peru (N to Junín at R Ene) during austral winter.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Fairly common. Much of this species’ preferred habitat has been converted for agricultural use and eucalypt (Eucalyptus) and pine (Pinus) plantations, often encouraged by government incentives. By 1993, two-thirds of cerrado region in C Brazil had been heavily or moderately altered; outside protected areas few undisturbed tracts remain, and these could soon be degraded by spreading fires and overgrazing, or could disappear completely through agricultural conversion. Potential effects on this species, however, are little known. Occurs in several national parks and a number of other reserves, both in known breeding range and in non-breeding areas.