Distribution

Pearly-breasted Conebill is confined to old and middle-aged islands in the Amazon River and its tributaries, although it seems to be rare and patchily distributed within its range. Although likely fairly widespread throughout the Amazon river system, it is currently known from four somewhat disparate regions: 1) northern Peru, from the lower reaches of the Río Napo and the vicinity of Iquitos, upstream to the lower Río Ucayali and the lower Río Huallaga; 2) in western Brazil along the Rio Solimões near Tefé; 3) central Brazil, along the Rio Solimões from Parintins to Manaus and the lower Rio Negro, and along the Rio Madeira at least as far upstream as Manicoré; and 4) northern Bolivia near the junction of the Rios Madre de Dios, Beni, and Mamoré. It is likely that with additional field work, these populations will be found to be contiguous.

Confined to South America.

Pearly-breasted Conebill is a habitat specialist, restricted to the canopy of Cecropia-dominated river islands (Rosenberg 1990, specimens in the Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science). In a detailed study of river island bird species, Rosenberg (1990) always detected Pearly-breasted Conebill in Cecropia woodland, and all but two observations were in the canopy (n = 10).

None reported. Populations are presumably stable, but may have decreased slightly due to human encroachment on river island habitats.

None reported.