The rufous gnateater (''Conopophaga lineata'') is a

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

of the

gnateater The gnateaters are a bird family, Conopophagidae, consisting of twelve small suboscine passerine species in two genera, which occur in South and Central America. Taxonomy The family Conopophagidae was introduced in 1877 by the English zoologist ...

family,

Conopophagidae The gnateaters are a bird family (biology), family, Conopophagidae, consisting of twelve small suboscine passerine species in two genus, genera, which occur in South America, South and Central America. Taxonomy The family Conopophagidae was int ...

. It is found in forest understory and bushes in eastern

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

from

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

north to central Brazil. Its range also extends into eastern

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

and north-eastern

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and it has recently been recorded in

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. It is often elusive and hard to see, but is commoner and less shy than other gnateaters.

Description

It is a small, rounded bird, 13 cm in length with a short tail and fairly long legs. The

plumage Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...

is mostly reddish brown. There is a white stripe above the eye (grey in the female) which ends in a tuft of

feather Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and an exa ...

s which can be hidden. The call is a series of quiet cheeps which become faster and higher-pitched. At dusk and dawn the males make a buzzing sound with their wing feathers as they fly around their territory. The rufous gnateater feeds by moving quickly from one perch to another through undergrowth close to the ground. When it sees an

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

it makes a short flight down to the ground or to overhead leaves to catch it. The cup-shaped

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...

is built in a tree and made of sticks and moss. The female lays two buff-coloured

eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

, oval or slightly conical in shape.

Subspecies

Two

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

are recognized: *''C. l. lineata'' ( zu Wied-Neuwied, 1831) -

*''C. l. vulgaris'' Ménétries, 1835 - Brazil,

and northeastern

References

External links

Rufous gnateater videos
on the Internet Bird Collection

VIREO {{Taxonbar, from=Q903053 rufous gnateater Birds of Brazil Birds of the South Region rufous gnateater