Typical conebills belong to the tanager genus Conirostrum. They are small tanagers (9–14 cm) found in the forests of South America. They feed in pairs or small flocks by gleaning insects from foliage.
The genus consists of two rather distinct subgenera:Ridgely & Tudor (1989), pp. 208–212, 222–224 The first, Ateleodacnis, possibly deserving full generic status, is confined to lowland areas. They are mostly grey in colour and inhabit deciduous woodlands, mangroves or riverbank habitats. The second group, the nominate Conirostrum subgenus, inhabits the forests of the Andes. They are somewhat more colourful combining grey or blue backs with rufous underparts. Their thin bills led to them being formerly classified as wood-warblers or honeycreepers but genetic data places them in the tanager family Thraupidae.
Taxonomy and species list The genus Conirostrum was introduced in 1838 by the French naturalists Alcide d'Orbigny and Frédéric de Lafresnaye with the cinereous conebill (Conirostrum cinereum) as the type species. The copy available from BHL lacks the plates. The genus name combines the Latin conus meaning "cone" and rostrum meaning "bill". There are now 11 species placed in the genus.
Image Common name Scientific name Distribution Pearly-breasted conebillConirostrum margaritae Brazil and PeruBicolored conebillConirostrum bicolor Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad south and east to the Guianas, northeast Peru and Brazil Chestnut-vented conebillConirostrum speciosum Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela White-eared conebillConirostrum leucogenys Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela Capped conebillConirostrum albifrons Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela Giant conebillConirostrum binghami (formerly Oreomanes fraseri) Colombia to Ecuador, and Peru to Bolivia Blue-backed conebillConirostrum sitticolor Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. White-browed conebillConirostrum ferrugineiventre Bolivia and Peru Tamarugo conebillConirostrum tamarugense northern Chile and is a vagrant to southern PeruRufous-browed conebillConirostrum rufum Colombia and far western VenezuelaCinereous conebillConirostrum cinereum Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
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