Pinto's Spinetail
Synallaxis infuscata
Spinetail with a largely dark body contrasting with a rich rusty crown, wings, and tail. Note the streaked whitish throat. In its tiny range, found in the understory at the edge of remnant humid forest fragments and in adjacent second-growth vegetation. The call is a repetition of “teh-teh-teh” notes.
Identification
Pinto's spinetail is 16 to 18 cm (6.3 to 7.1 in) long and weighs 16 to 20 g (0.56 to 0.71 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a dark grayish face. Their crown and nape are bright reddish chestnut and their back, rump, and uppertail coverts are brownish gray. Their wings are mostly rufous. Their tail is dark rufous-chestnut; it is graduated and the feathers have pointed tips. Their chin has a black spot; the rest of their chin and throat have diffuse whitish and gray streaks. The rest of their underparts are dark slaty gray with sometimes a lighter central belly. Their iris is dark brown, their bill dark gray, and their legs and feet grayish or greenish gray.
Taxonomy
Pinto's spinetail was previously treated as a subspecies of the rufous-capped spinetail (S. ruficapilla) but since the late twentieth century has been acknowledged as a full species. However, its relationship to other members of genus Synallaxis has not been clarified.<p>Pinto's spinetail is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Synallaxis infuscata
- Authority
- Pinto, 1950
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Furnariidae
- Genus
- Synallaxis
Range and habitat
Pinto's spinetail is found patchily in far eastern Brazil, in the eastern parts of Paraíba, Alagoas, and Pernambuco states. It inhabits tropical lowland evergreen forest both primary and secondary, usually in dense undergrowth. In elevation it ranges from near sea level to almost 1,100 m (3,600 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Pinto's spinetail is a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>Pinto's spinetail feeds on arthropods. It typically forages singly or in pairs, gleaning prey from live and dead leaves and small branches, and usually 1 to 2 m (3 to 7 ft) above the ground.<p>The breeding season of Pinto's spinetail has not been defined but active nests have been found in January and April, and recently fledged young have also been found in April. Its nest is a globe of sticks, dry leaves, and bark bits with a tunnel entrance at the side. Its inner chamber is lined with leaves or grass with cobwebs. It is typically built in branches where it is well hidden by vines, usually 1 to 5 m (3 to 16 ft) above the ground and only rarely higher. The clutch size is two eggs. The incubation period is 21 to 22 days, fledging occurs 14 to 16 days after hatch, and both parents build the nest, incubate the clutch, and provision the nestlings.<p>The song of Pinto's spinetail is described as "reet, reet" and is typically sung twice. Its call is "a spitting trill" and it also makes "a chatter...unlike any vocalization of congeners".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Arremon crassirostris
Medium-sized sparrowlike bird; olive overall with contrasting yellow belly, white mustache line, dark gray face, and rufous cap. Range does not overlap with other similar-looking sparrows and brushfinches. Tends to be quite shy. Usually found in pairs or small family groups, often scratching through leaf litter or low in a tangle around a forested stream. Sexes alike.
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Francolinus francolinus
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Oriental Skylark
Alauda gulgula
Chunky brown songbird with a weak crest, typically found on the ground in open fields and meadows. Darker above than below, with fine black streaking on the chest and light chestnut ear coverts with dark border. Very similar to Eurasian Skylark, with which it shares much of its range, but Oriental has buffy, not white, outer tail edges and trailing edge of wing. Breeding males “skylark,” singing a series of variable notes while hovering high above the territory.
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