Tanagers (Thraupidae)

Chestnut-vented Conebill (Conirostrum speciosum) - HBW 16, p. 261

French: Conirostre cul-roux German: Rotsteiß-Spitzschnabel Spanish: Conirrostro Culirrufo

Taxonomy: Sylvia speciosa Temminck, 1824, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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 was originally placed in genus Ateleodacnis, and some taxonomists argue that it, along with the other lowland conebills (C. leucogenys, C. bicolor and C. margaritae), should be returned to that genus; as a group they are morphologically quite distinct from most highland members of present genus. Three subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

guaricola Phelps, Sr & Phelps, Jr, 1949 - E Guárico and W Anzoátegui, in NE Venezuela.
amazonum (Hellmayr, 1917) - E of Andes in W Venezuela (Apure) and E Colombia (S to Meta and N Vichada); E Ecuador and E Peru; and C Guyana E to N French Guiana, and N Brazil (NE Roraima, E Amazonas and W, C & NE Pará).
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).