Giant conebill explained

The giant conebill (Conirostrum binghami) is a small passerine bird, one of the tanager family. It is closely related to the regular conebills Conirostrum though it differs in its larger size and nuthatch-like foraging habits.

The giant conebill is 15cm (06inches) in length and weighs 22g27g. It is grey above, deep chestnut below, and with a white patch on the cheeks. It is found in the Andes from Colombia to Ecuador, and Peru to Bolivia. It lives in Polylepis trees of the family Rosaceae.

The giant conebill lives individually or in groups of 5 or less. It peels bark off Polylepis trees to find insects. It also eats aphids and sugary solutions secreted by Gynoxys. The species is a seasonal breeder, nesting at the start of the rainy season (September to December in Bolivia where it has been studied). The nest is an open cup set on the branches of Polylepis, and the average clutch size is 1.8 eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs, feed the chicks and remove the fecal sacs.^[1]

Its decline is attributed to the destruction and fragmentation of Polylepis woodland.

Taxonomy

The taxonomy is complicated. The giant conebill was formally described in 1860 by the English zoologist Philip Sclater from a specimen collected by Louis Fraser. Sclater coined the binomial name Oreomanes fraseri.^{[2] [3]} A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that the giant conebill was embedded in a clade containing members of the genus Conirostrum.^[4] As Conirostrum d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1838, was introduced before Oreomanes Sclater, 1860, Conirostrum has priority and Oreomanes was merged into Conirostrum. But as the cinereous conebill has a recognised subspecies, Conirostrum cinereum fraseri Sclater, 1859, the specific name of the giant conebill was changed to that of its junior synonym Oreomanes binghami. This had been introduced in 1919 by the American ornithologist Frank Chapman based on a specimen collected near Machu Picchu in Peru. The specific epithet was chosen to honour Hiram Bingham.^{[5] [6] [7]} The giant conebill is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.^[6]

Further reading

• BirdLife Species Factsheet
• Mason, N. A. and K. J. Burns. 2010 .Giant Conebill (Oreomanes fraseri), Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; retrieved from Neotropical Birds Online: http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p_spp=589196
• Ridgely, R. S., & G. Tudor. 1989. The birds of South America, vol. 1. Univ. Texas Press, Austin.
• Schulenberg, T. S. 1985. An intergeneric hybrid conebill (Conirostrum X Oreomanes) from Peru. pp. 390–395 in "Neotropical Ornithology" (P. A. Buckley et al., eds.), Ornithol. Monogr. No. 36.
• Zimmer, J. 1942d. Studies of Peruvian birds, No. 43. Notes on The genera Dacnis, Xenodacnis, Coereba, Conirostrum, and Oreomanes. 1193: 1–16.

External links

• Xeno-canto: audio recordings of the giant conebill
• Bartley, G. (2009). Photo of the Giant Conebill.

Notes and References

1. Cahill. J. E. Matthysen . N. E. Huanca . 2008. Nesting biology of the Giant Conebill (Oreomanes fraseri) in the High Andes of Bolivia. Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 120. 3. 545–549. 10.1676/07-066.1. 85970323.
2. Sclater . Philip Lutley. Philip Sclater . 1860. List of Birds collected by Mr. Fraser in the vicinity of Quito, and during excursions to Pichincha and Chimborazo; with notes and descriptions of new species . Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London . 28 . 73-83 [75, Plate 159] .
3. Book: Paynter . Raymond A. Jr . 1970 . Check-List of Birds of the World . 13 . Museum of Comparative Zoology . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 398–399 .
4. Burns . K.J. . Shultz . A.J. . Title . P.O. . Mason . N.A. . Barker . F.K. . Klicka . J. . Lanyon . S.M. . Lovette . I.J. . 2014 . Phylogenetics and diversification of tanagers (Passeriformes: Thraupidae), the largest radiation of Neotropical songbirds . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 75. 41–77 . 10.1016/j.ympev.2014.02.006 . 24583021 . 2014MolPE..75...41B .
5. Burns . K.J. . Unitt . P. . Mason . N.A. . 2016 . A genus-level classification of the family Thraupidae (Class Aves: Order Passeriformes) . Zootaxa . 4088 . 3 . 329–354 . 10.11646/zootaxa.4088.3.2 . 27394344 .
6. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela Rasmussen . July 2020 . Tanagers and allies . IOC World Bird List Version 10.2 . International Ornithologists' Union . 17 October 2020 .
7. Chapman . Frank M. . Frank Chapman (ornithologist) . 1919 . Descriptions of proposed new birds from Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile . Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History . 41 . 323–333 [331–332] . 2246/1747 .