Brown-capped Tit-Spinetail
Leptasthenura fuliginiceps
Small, agile brown bird of the high Andes from central western Argentina to Lake Titicaca. Uses long, stiff tail to forage acrobatically on branches and cliffsides. From similar Tawny Tit-Spinetail by Brown-capped’s erect crest and colder underparts. Prefers semi-open vegetation like shrub, gardens, and Polylepis woodland, often in mixed foraging flocks. Song a very high, dry, twittered trill. Call a high and less dry “skweet!”
Identification
The brown-capped tit-spinetail is 15 to 16 cm (5.9 to 6.3 in) long and weighs 9 to 13 g (0.32 to 0.46 oz). It is a small, slender, long-tailed furnariid with a short bill. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a pale dull buff supercilium on an otherwise plain brownish face. Their crown is brown, their upper back a paler brown, and their lower back, rump, and uppertail coverts are refescent. Their wings are mostly rufous. Their tail is rufous; it is graduated and the feathers narrow at the tips giving a spiny appearance. Their underparts are pale tawny brownish with a rufescent tinge to the flanks and undertail coverts. Their iris is brown to dark brown, their maxilla black to dusky brownish horn, their mandible horn to pearl-gray with a dusky tip, and their legs and feet olive greenish, grayish olive, or gray. Juveniles have a less distinct crown than adults, with some slight mottling on the breast and rounded tail feathers. Subspecies L. f. paranensis has a less brownish back and paler and grayer underparts than the nominate.
Taxonomy
The brown-capped tit-spinetail has two subspecies, the nominate L. f. fuliginiceps (D'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837) and L. f. paranensis (Sclater, PL, 1862).
- Scientific name
- Leptasthenura fuliginiceps
- Authority
- (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Furnariidae
- Genus
- Leptasthenura
Range and habitat
The nominate subspecies of the brown-capped tit-spinetail is found in the Bolivian Andes between the west-central department of La Paz and the southern Potosí and Tarija departments. Subspecies L. f. paranensis is found in the Andes of northwestern Argentina from Jujuy and Salta provinces south to Mendoza, Córdoba, and San Luis provinces. The species inhabits a variety of landscapes including arid, semi-humid, and humid montane scrublands; Polylepis woodlands; and semi-humid woodlands. In scrublands if favors steep ravines. In elevation it mostly ranges between 1,500 and 3,900 m (4,900 and 12,800 ft) in Bolivia and between 1,000 and 2,500 m (3,300 and 8,200 ft) in Argentina.
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Behavior
The brown-capped tit-spinetail is mostly a year-round resident throughout its range, though some of the Argentine population makes elevation movements between the seasons.<p>The brown-capped tit-spinetail feeds on arthropods. It forages in pairs or in small groups and often joins mixed-species feeding flocks, and feeds from the forest's understorey to its canopy. It usually forages by gleaning its prey from leaves, twigs, and the bark of branches. It sometimes hangs upside down to reach prey.<p>The brown-capped tit-spinetail breeds in the austral spring and summer. It is thought to be monogamous. Its nest is a ball of plant material lined with softer plant fibers, down, and feathers, constructed in a crevice in a rock or building. The clutch size is two or three eggs. The incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known.<p>The brown-capped tit-spinetail's song has not been described. Its call is "a faint insect-like 'pree' ".
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Phibalura flavirostris
Visually striking cotinga with an intricate plumage pattern and a long, deeply-forked tail, which is yellow at the base and darker towards the tip. Note the black cap contrasting with a pale bill, yellow chin, and a pied scaly shawl. The back is spotted olive and black and the underparts are yellow and white with odd spots. Usually seen perched on the top of trees at forest edges and in woodlands and open areas with scattered trees. Usually silent.
Large Tree-Finch
Camarhynchus psittacula
A fairly large, parrot-billed Galápagos finch. Bill is highly curved on both the upper and lower edges, and it is a bit longer than it is deep. Male has a black head and back, and a yellowish belly with a varying amount of dark streaking. Female is tan with a whitish or yellowish belly, and brown streaks on the underparts. Bill is black on breeding male, and brown or orange on nonbreeding male and female. Very similar to Vegetarian Finch, which is larger with a bulkier bill. On Floreana, also compare with Medium Tree-Finch. Found on most of the larger islands, but absent from Española, Genovesa, Santiago, and San Cristóbal. Inhabits forests at higher elevations, but some may descend to lower elevations during dry periods.
Smooth-billed Ani
Crotophaga ani
Anis are bizarre, coal-black cuckoos with long floppy tails and unique, curiously tall, flattened bills. Smooth-billed occurs in a variety of open and semi-open habitats in tropical lowlands and foothills, typically staying low in shrubs and grasses. Gregarious and not particularly graceful; usually seen crashing around awkwardly in small groups. Flies with choppy wingbeats and long glides. Widespread and common throughout much of South America and the Caribbean, extending as far west as the Pacific slope of Costa Rica and north to Florida. Compare with the very similar Groove-billed Ani, which overlaps in some areas of Central and South America. Note especially the bill shape: Smooth-billed often (but not always) has a taller ridge on the top of the bill, and a sharper angle on the lower edge of the bill. The sides are typically smooth, rarely with weak grooves. Voice is also important: listen for a rising, hawklike whistle with an inflection at the end. Dark eye, size, and habitat help separate from Greater Ani in South America and Panama.
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