Family Conopophagidae

Gnateaters

Only subscribers have complete access to the families of the HBW Alive. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now!

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

Vertical Tabs

General

Small, diurnal birds with a stocky shape, short tail, short, rounded wings, proportionately long legs, and flattened, weakly uncinate bill; most with conspicuous white postocular tufts.
Neotropical Region.
Humid and semi-humid forest and woodland.

10-16 cm.

2 genera, 12 species, 26 taxa.

0 species threatened;
none extinct since 1600.

Systematics

The genus Conopophaga, established by L. J. P. Vieillot in 1816, comprises all of the eight currently recognized species of gnateater, the name being derived from the Greek words konops,...

You are reading a trimmed version of the Systematics section.
Only members are able to see the rest of the text. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now.

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

Morphological Aspects

The gnateaters are a morphologically conservative group, showing little variation in basic shape and characteristics. All are small, and are rather stocky in shape, with a short tail and short, rounded wings....

You are reading a trimmed version of the Morphological Aspects section.
Only members are able to see the rest of the text. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now.

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

Habitat

Gnateaters almost certainly evolved in humid, upland forest habitats. All of them are denizens of the understorey, occurring in both level and hilly terrain, and showing no preference for the proximity of water...

You are reading a trimmed version of the Habitat section.
Only members are able to see the rest of the text. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now.

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

General Habits

Published information on most species of gnateater is sketchy and, in some instances, contradictory, and, as a result, the Conopophagidae ranks among the least-known of Neotropical bird families. This is easily understood, because most of the species in the family, despite being about as...

You are reading a trimmed version of the General Habits section.
Only members are able to see the rest of the text. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now.

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

Voice

Like the Formicariidae, the gnateaters have a limited vocal repertoire. All species have a song and two or three variations of a monosyllabic call. All except the Black-cheeked Gnateater also occasionally...

You are reading a trimmed version of the Voice section.
Only members are able to see the rest of the text. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now.

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

Food and Feeding

Gnateaters forage near and on the forest floor, seldom rising to more than about 1·5 m above the ground. Their food consists almost entirely of arthropods, and it appears that most prey are quite small, less...

You are reading a trimmed version of the Food and Feeding section.
Only members are able to see the rest of the text. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now.

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

Breeding

Generalizing from the few cases studied, and the fact that most conopophagid species are found in pairs throughout the year, gnateaters appear to be monogamous.

The two species occurring in the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil show highly seasonal breeding activity, with males...

You are reading a trimmed version of the Breeding section.
Only members are able to see the rest of the text. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now.

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

Movements

Gnateaters are entirely non-migratory but, beyond this, little is known of their dispersal patterns, tendencies or capabilities.

Willis and colleagues found that pairs of Rufous Gnateaters living in a...

You are reading a trimmed version of the Movements section.
Only members are able to see the rest of the text. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now.

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

Relationship with Man

Being obscure little spirits of the dim forest understorey, the gnateaters have ranked about as low as it is possible to get on the attention list of humans. In many areas of Amazonia, for instance, indigenous and other local people do not differentiate them from other small birds. It is true...

You are reading a trimmed version of the Relationship with Man section.
Only members are able to see the rest of the text. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now.

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

Status and Conservation

All of the gnateaters are common or fairly common birds in appropriate habitat. None of the eight species is in danger of extinction. Many preserves in South America, some well protected and others little more than names in files, harbour one or more species of gnateater.

The smallest...

You are reading a trimmed version of the Status and Conservation section.
Only members are able to see the rest of the text. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now.

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

General Bibliography

Only subscribers are able to see the bibliography. Login or Subscribe to access to a lot of extra features!

Species list

List of species of the Gnateaters (Conopophagidae) family. Each species provides information on taxonomy, descriptive notes, voice, habitat, food and feeding, breeding, movements, status and conservation and bibliography.

Sample species table image

A detailed list of the species of the family is displayed to our subscribers, showing the following columns: Genus, Species, Common name, Conservation Status, Figure, and the Check mark. Above the table, a tiny search engine is displayed to facilitate the filtering of the species.

You don't have any subscription to the HBW Alive. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now!

HBW Alive

Family Conopophagidae

Vertical Tabs

Public comments

Recommended citation

About

Help

My account