Crested Spinetail
Cranioleuca subcristata
Distinctive small, bicolored bird, with a mostly pale olive-brown body, short crest, rufous wings, and long spiky rufous tail. Crown has narrow black stripes; bill pinkish and decurved. Very arboreal, actively foraging by hitching up branches and tree trunks, as well as by checking leaves and bromeliads. Often with mixed-species flocks. Common, mainly in foothills and lower montane regions. Usually in humid forest, tall secondary forest, and forest borders. Very vocal, the song an accelerating series of short, high notes.
Identification
The crested spinetail is 14 to 15 cm (5.5 to 5.9 in) long and weighs about 14 g (0.49 oz). It is a long-billed member of genus Cranioleuca but despite its name has only a very slight crest. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a faint whitish brown supercilium on an otherwise dull brownish face. Their crown is indistinctly striped with light and dark brown, and their back, rump, and uppertail coverts are brown. Their tail and wings are dark rufous with dark fuscous tips on the flight feathers. Their chin is whitish buff and their throat and underparts dull tawny-brownish. Their iris is chestnut to cream, their maxilla brownish pink, their mandible yellowish to pinkish, and their legs and feet yellowish pink to greenish yellow. Juveniles are grayer than adults and have more mottled underparts and a rufescent tinge to the sides of the crown. Subspecies C. s. fuscivertex has blacker and more prominent stripes on the crown than the nominate.
Taxonomy
The crested spinetail has two subspecies, the nominate C. s. subcristata (Sclater, PL, 1874) and C. s. fuscivertex (Phelps, WH & Phelps, WH Jr, 1955).
- Scientific name
- Cranioleuca subcristata
- Authority
- (Sclater, PL, 1874)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Furnariidae
- Genus
- Cranioleuca
Range and habitat
The nominate subspecies of the crested spinetail is the more widely distributed of the two. It is found in much of northwestern Venezuela and adjacent northeastern Colombia, and separately in northeastern Venezuela. Subspecies C. s. fuscivertex is found in the Serranía del Perijá that straddles the Colombia-Venezuela border. The species primarily inhabits montane evergreen forest. In Venezuela's Maracaibo Basin it locally occurs in lowland tropical evergreen forest. It also occurs in mature secondary forest and plantations. In elevation it ranges between 50 and 1,950 m (160 and 6,400 ft) though in Colombia it is scarce in lowlands.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Plump, colorful bird of cloud forest along the east slope of the Andes. Plumage is mostly green and yellow, and male has a red throat and breast. Female may have a yellow or orange chin patch, but this feature is often absent on Ecuadorian birds. Female is similar to female Fiery-throated Fruiteater but larger and with an orange (not black) bill. Plucks berries at mid-levels in the forest, and often found in pairs. Gives high-pitched chips and whistles, sometimes followed by a trill.
Antioquia Bristle-Tyrant
Pogonotriccus lanyoni
Rare flycatcher known only from a few sites in the Colombian Andes, mainly in the northern part of the central range. It is fairly small and mostly yellow, with a gray crown and broad, yellow wingbars. Yellow and gray smudges on ears can be very indistinct. Often confused with the much more common Yellow-olive Flycatcher, but bill is narrower, wingbars are brighter yellow, and voice is different. Typical song is a short burst that starts off as a dry rattle and then morphs into airy squeaking. Inhabits humid forest and sometimes joins mixed species flocks.
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
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Medium-sized woodpecker, plain buffy-brown overall with black-and-white barring on the back. Head pattern varies across range but usually shows some combination of yellow and red. Most males on the Caribbean slope of Mexico and into Central America have a solidly red crown and nape. In flight, look for white rump. Common and conspicuous in open woodlands, deciduous forest, and arid scrub from Texas and Oklahoma south to Nicaragua. Often the default woodpecker close to human settlements. Visits backyards and feeders, especially for oranges and jelly. Hybridizes with Red-bellied Woodpecker at the northern limits of its range and with Hoffmann’s Woodpecker at the southern limits. Also compare with the smaller Yucatan Woodpecker.
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