Rufous Gnateater (Conopophaga lineata) [XC706685]
by Brian Cox from Pousada do Encontro, Bananal, S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil (call)
Rufous Gnateater (Conopophaga lineata) [XC774357]
by Franco Vushurovich from RPPN Serra Bonita, Camacan-BA, Bahia, Brazil (call)
Nest
Cup-shaped composed of sticks and moss placed in a tree.
Subspecies
Apparently closest to, and perhaps forms a group with, Hooded Gnateater (Conopophaga roberti), Ash-throated Gnateater (Conopophaga peruviana), Slaty Gnateater (Conopophaga ardesiaca) and Chestnut-crowned Gnateater (Conopophaga castaneiceps), possibly also including Black-bellied Gnateater (Conopophaga melanogaster). Subspecies cearae morphologically and vocally distinctive, and may merit species status. Described forms anomalus from Paraguay (Alto Paraná) and rubecula from Brazil (Veadeiros, in Goiás) subsumed in, respectively, vulgaris and nominate. Also, two specimens from eastern Brazil (Ibiquera, in central Bahia) exhibit distinctive plumage differences, and possibly represent an unnamed taxon.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
cearae (Wied, 1831) - North-eastern Brazil in northern Ceará (Serra de Baturité); affinity with populations in Pernambuco and northern Bahia requires confirmation. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Ceara Gnateater (Conopophaga cearae).
lineata (Wied, 1831) - Pernambuco south to southern Bahia, and southern and west to Goiás. Also northern Mato Grosso do Sul (Serra das Araras).
vulgaris Ménétries, 1835 - South-central and south-eastern Brazil (southern Mato Grosso do Sul and Espírito Santo south to Rio Grande do Sul) to eastern Paraguay, north-eastern Argentina (Misiones, Corrientes) and eastern Uruguay.