Ovenbirds (Furnariidae)

Pale-legged Hornero (Furnarius leucopus) - HBW 8, p. 259

French: Fournier variable German: Blaßfußtöpfer Spanish: Hornero Paticlaro
Other common names: Caribbean Hornero (endoecus, longirostris); Pacific Hornero (cinnamomeus); Tricolour(ed) Hornero (tricolor)

Taxonomy: Furnarius leucopus Swainson, 1838, Guyana.
Has been treated as conspecific with C. torridus, but the two occur sympatrically in NE Peru. Several races possibly represent separate species, but their songs all sound superficially very similar, and quantitative analysis is needed before determining potential splits. In particular, cinnamomeus, with which described form pallidus (La Libertad, in Peru) is synonymized, perhaps worthy of full species rank, while longirostris (with endoecus) may be part of that possible species or itself a distinct species; also, tricolor has sometimes been treated as.. View all taxonomy...

Taxonomy: Furnarius leucopus Swainson, 1838, Guyana.
Has been treated as conspecific with C. torridus, but the two occur sympatrically in NE Peru. Several races possibly represent separate species, but their songs all sound superficially very similar, and quantitative analysis is needed before determining potential splits. In particular, cinnamomeus, with which described form pallidus (La Libertad, in Peru) is synonymized, perhaps worthy of full species rank, while longirostris (with endoecus) may be part of that possible species or itself a distinct species; also, tricolor has sometimes been treated as a separate species. Otherwise, race araguaiae, described from just a few specimens from few localities, possibly represents only intergradation between tricolor and assimilis; taxonomic status tentatively maintained pending further analysis. Proposed race exilis (N Colombia), purportedly more richly coloured than others in Colombia, considered not diagnosable. Seven subspecies tentatively recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

  • longirostris Pelzeln, 1856 - N Colombia (Córdoba E to lower Magdalena Valley) and NW Venezuela (NW Zulia E to W Falcón, NW Lara and Carabobo).
  • endoecus Cory, 1919 - N Colombia (lower and middle Magdalena Valley) and W Venezuela (S Zulia).
  • leucopus Swainson, 1838 - N Brazil (R Negro, R Branco) and SW Guyana.

     See all 7 subspecies
  • longirostris Pelzeln, 1856 - N Colombia (Córdoba E to lower Magdalena Valley) and NW Venezuela (NW Zulia E to W Falcón, NW Lara and Carabobo).
  • endoecus Cory, 1919 - N Colombia (lower and middle Magdalena Valley) and W Venezuela (S Zulia).
  • leucopus Swainson, 1838 - N Brazil (R Negro, R Branco) and SW Guyana.
  • cinnamomeus (Lesson, 1844) - W Ecuador (S from W Esmeraldas) and NW Peru (S to N Ancash).
  • tricolor Giebel, 1868 - E Peru (Amazonas S to Puno) and W Brazil (E to W Pará, S to N Mato Grosso) S to C Bolivia (Santa Cruz).
  • araguaiae Pinto & Camargo, 1952 - SC Brazil (R Araguaia and R das Mortes in E Mato Grosso, possibly also W Goiás).
  • assimilis Cabanis & Heine, 1859 - E & S Brazil (Maranhão E to Pernambuco, S to Bahia and S Mato Grosso) and extreme SE Bolivia (SE Santa Cruz).