Ovenbirds (Furnariidae)

Rufous-fronted Thornbird (Phacellodomus rufifrons) - HBW 8, p. 313

French: Synallaxe à front roux German: Rotstirn-Bündelnister Spanish: Espinero Común
Other common names: Common/Plain Thornbird, Plain-fronted/Red-fronted Thornbird; Northern Thornbird (inornatus, castilloi); Maranon/Peruvian Thornbird (peruvianus)

Taxonomy: Anabates rufifrons Wied, 1821, Riberão de Ressaca, Bahia-Minas Gerais border, Brazil.
Considered by some authors to form a superspecies with P. sibilatrix, but the two overlap considerably in distribution, and differ in body size and nest structure. N races inornatus and castilloi sometimes treated as constituting a separate species; peruvianus possibly also a separate species. Proposed race fargoi, from Paraguay and S Brazil (Mato Grosso), described as browner above and with flanks and undertail-coverts more fulvous, but found to be not diagnosable by these characters; treated as synonym of sincipitalis. Six subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

inornatus Ridgway, 1887 - NC Venezuela (SE Falcón, Yaracuy and Carabobo E to Miranda).
castilloi Phelps, Jr. & Aveledo, 1987 - W & C Venezuela (Lara, Portuguesa, Barinas and Apure E to Sucre and Monagas) and NE Colombia (Boyacá, Arauca, Casanare, Vichada, NE Meta).
peruvianus Hellmayr, 1925 - extreme S Ecuador (S Zamora-Chinchipe) and N Peru (upper Marañón Valley in Amazonas, Cajamarca and San Martín).

See all 6 subspecies

inornatus Ridgway, 1887 - NC Venezuela (SE Falcón, Yaracuy and Carabobo E to Miranda).
castilloi Phelps, Jr. & Aveledo, 1987 - W & C Venezuela (Lara, Portuguesa, Barinas and Apure E to Sucre and Monagas) and NE Colombia (Boyacá, Arauca, Casanare, Vichada, NE Meta).
peruvianus Hellmayr, 1925 - extreme S Ecuador (S Zamora-Chinchipe) and N Peru (upper Marañón Valley in Amazonas, Cajamarca and San Martín).
sincipitalis Cabanis, 1883 - E Bolivia (Beni, Santa Cruz, Tarija), S Brazil (S Mato Grosso), NC Paraguay and NW Argentina (Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán).
specularis Hellmayr, 1925 - NE Brazil (Pernambuco).
rufifrons (Wied, 1821) - E Brazil (S Maranhão, S Piauí, Bahia, N Minas Gerais).

Least Concern

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13 photos

A perched bird. Locality Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil
Ken Havard 16 November 2012 20 weeks ago 4
picture taken close to the cabanas of the lodge Locality Hato El Cedral, Apure State, Venezuela (ssp castilloi)
Thore Noernberg 5 December 2012 48 weeks ago 3.8
A bird on a branch. Locality São João dos Patos, Maranhão State, Brazil (ssp specularis)
Nick Athanas 12 January 2006 4 years ago 3.8
A bird perched in a tree. Locality Pantanal, Brazil
Joe Tobias 17 weeks ago 3.7
A nest. Locality Río Chico, Miranda State, Venezuela (ssp inornatus)
philgunson 22 February 2009 4 years ago 3.7
Eating in a cashew tree Locality Hato El Cedral, Apure State, Venezuela (ssp inornatus)
kperezleon 18 December 2012 25 weeks ago 3.5
picture taken on the campsite of Hato el Cedral Locality Hato El Cedral, Apure State, Venezuela (ssp castilloi)
Thore Noernberg 4 December 2011 30 weeks ago 3.4
Making a nest Locality Termas de Rio Hondo, Santiago del Estero Province, Argentina
Miguel Andina 22 March 2013 12 weeks ago 3.3
A view of a nest. Locality Camiri, Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia (ssp sincipitalis)
Joe Tobias 18 July 2006 17 weeks ago 3.3
A nest. Locality Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil
Ken Havard 16 November 2012 20 weeks ago 3
A perched adult. Locality Lagoa Grande, Pernambuco State, Brazil
Ken Havard 9 February 2007 41 weeks ago 3
A nest on a lamp-post. Locality Río Chico, Miranda State, Venezuela (ssp inornatus)
philgunson 22 February 2009 4 years ago 2.5
Bird on a branch Locality Paz de Ariporo, Casanare Department, Colombia
mauricio rueda 22 November 2007 4 years ago 2.3