Tanagers (Thraupidae)

Bicolored Conebill (Conirostrum bicolor) - HBW 16, p. 261

French: Conirostre bicolore German: Zweifarben-Spitzschnabel Spanish: Conirrostro Bicolor

Taxonomy: Sylvia bicolor Vieillot, 1809, Cayenne, French Guiana.
Genus has sometimes been placed in Coerebidae or Parulidae, but molecular-genetic data indicate that it belongs in present family, with Oreomanes as sister-group. This species previously placed in Ateleodacnis, and some taxonomists argue that, along with the other lowland conebills (C. speciosum, C. leucogenys and C. margaritae), it should be returned to that genus; as a group they are morphologically distinct from most highland members of present genus. Two subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

bicolor (Vieillot, 1809) - Colombia from SW of Cartagena (Fuerte I) E along coast, including Margareta I and Trinidad, locally to N & E Brazil (Amapá, and mouth of R Amazon, E then S very locally to São Paulo); also locally along R Branco (NC Brazil).
minus (Hellmayr, 1935) - both banks of R Amazon in NE Peru, SE Colombia and Brazil E to vicinity of R Madeira and R Tapajós, and probably (records spotty) to near mouth of R Amazon.