Black-throated Spinetail
Synallaxis castanea
Bright rufous bird with a long, spiky tail and black lores and throat. Sexes similar; juvenile lacks black throat. Mostly in pairs or family groups low to the ground. Fairly common in higher cloud forests, mostly in bamboo patches along roads or forest edges. Very vocal and easy to hear, a two to six note “kik, kik, kik-kik kik,” ascending and building in volume, often given repetitively for long periods. No similar species in range. Endemic to the Coastal Cordillera of Venezuela.
Identification
The black-throated spinetail is 16 to 18 cm (6.3 to 7.1 in) long. It is one of the larger members of genus Synallaxis. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults are mostly bright rufescent. They do have a paler chin and the eponymous solid black throat. Their iris is dark reddish brown, their bill blackish, and their legs and feet blue-gray. Juveniles are duller and browner than adults, with a dull and indistinct throat patch and faint dusky markings on the head and underparts.
Taxonomy
For a period in the mid twentieth century the black-throated spinetail was treated as a subspecies of the rufous spinetail (S. unirufa); they are now known to be sister species. The two of them and the rusty-headed spinetail (S. fuscorufa) have been treated by some authors as a single species.<p>The black-throated spinetail is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Synallaxis castanea
- Authority
- Sclater, PL, 1856
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Furnariidae
- Genus
- Synallaxis
Range and habitat
The black-throated spinetail is found only in the Venezuelan Coastal Range from Aragua east to the vicinity of Caracas in Miranda. It inhabits montane evergreen forest, secondary forest, and the undergrowth and edges of cloudforest. It is often seen along brushy roadsides and occasionally in stands of Chusquea bamboo. In elevation it ranges between 1,300 and 2,200 m (4,300 and 7,200 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The black-throated spinetail is a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>The black-throated spinetail's diet is not known in detail but is assumed to be mostly arthropods. It usually forages in pairs and is thought to glean prey from foliage and small branches up to about 2 m (7 ft) above the ground.<p>The black-throated spinetail breeds between April and July. Nothing else is known about its breeding biology.<p>The black-throated spinetail's song is "a rapid 'ke-che-che-che-che-che' followed immediately by louder 'ker-chéé-chéé' " and is often sung in duet. Its call is "a loud 'ki-kík' ".
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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