| Ash-browed spinetail | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Furnariidae |
| Genus: | Cranioleuca |
| Species: | C. curtata |
| Binomial name | |
| Cranioleuca curtata (Sclater, PL, 1870) | |
 | |
The ash-browed spinetail (Cranioleuca curtata) is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. [2]
The ash-browed spinetail has three subspecies, the nominate C. c. curtata (Sclater, PL, 1870), C. c. cisandina (Taczanowski, 1882), and C. c. debilis (Berlepsch & Stolzmann, 1906). [2] Subspecies C. c. cisandina had originally been described as a separate species. [3]
The ash-browed spinetail is 14 to 15 cm (5.5 to 5.9 in) long and weighs 14 to 21 g (0.49 to 0.74 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a supercilium that varies from bold whitish to obscure dingy gray. The rest of their face is dull brownish with some pale streaks on the ear coverts. Their forehead is brown with some reddish chestnut, their crown reddish chestnut, and their back rich brown that becomes increasingly reddish by the uppertail coverts. Their wings are reddish chestnut; their flight feathers are slightly paler with dark fuscous tips. Their tail is dark reddish chestnut; it is graduated and the feathers sometimes lack barbs on their tips. Their chin is very pale brownish gray, their throat browner with light streaking, and their underparts dull browish with slightily richer brown flanks. Their iris is chestnut to brown, their maxilla dark brown to blackish, their mandible pinkish (usually with a dark tip), and their legs and feet olive-greenish to mustard-yellow. Juveniles have a strong supercilium, a mostly brown crown with some chestnut, and ochraceous rufous underparts. Subspecies C. c. cisandina has darker and more chestnut crown, wings, and tail than the nominate, and also a darker brown back and darker grayish tones on the underparts. C. c. debilis is similar to cisandina but overall paler with a chestnut forehead. [4] [5] [6]
The nominate subspecies of the ash-browed spinetail is the northernmost. It is found on the west slope of Colombia's Eastern Andes between the departments of Santander and Huila. Subspecies C. c. cisandina is found on the eastern slope of the Andes from Caquetá Department in Colombia south through eastern Ecuador and into Peru at least as far as the Department of Cuzco. C. c. debilis is found from Peru's departments of Ayacucho and Cuzco south to Santa Cruz Department in Bolivia. [4]
The ash-browed spinetail inhabits humid foothill and lower subtropical forest and montane evergreen forest. In elevation it ranges between 800 and 2,300 m (2,600 and 7,500 ft) in Colombia and mostly between 900 and 1,700 m (3,000 and 5,600 ft) in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. It occurs locally as low as 650 m (2,100 ft) and as high as 2,500 m (8,200 ft). [4] [5] [6]
The ash-browed spinetail is a year-round resident throughout its range. [4]
The ash-browed spinetail feeds on arthropods. It forages singly and in pairs and usually as part of a mixed-species feeding flock. It usually feeds from the forest's middle levels to its subcanopy. It acrobatically probes for and gleans prey from bark, moss, epiphytes, dead leaves, and debris while hitching along small branches, sometimes hanging upside down. [4] [6]
Essentially nothing is known about the ash-browed spinetail's breeding biology. One fledgling was seen in March in northern Ecuador. [4]
The ash-browed spinetail's song has variously been described as "a high-pitched, accelerating, descending and fading series of shrill notes with bouncing-ball rhythm" [4] , a "fast, accelerating, but fading trill" [5] , and "a fast and sprightly series of shrill notes that usually ends in a trill and fades in intensity" [6] .
The IUCN originally assessed the ash-browed spinetail as being of Least Concern, then in 2012 as Vulnerable, and then in 2021 again as of Least Concern. It has a very large range and an unknown population size that is believed to be decreasing. "The primary threat to this species is accelerating deforestation as forests within the range are converted for ranching and farming." [1] It is considered uncommon to fairly common. It is thought to be susceptible to forest fragmentation, but occurs in many protected areas both governmental and private. [4]
The red-billed scythebill is a species of bird in the subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela.
The creamy-crested spinetail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Peru.
The light-crowned spinetail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia and Peru.
The line-cheeked spinetail is an arboreal species of bird in the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is a common species in the Andes in Ecuador and Peru. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, woodland and scrub. It is distinguished from other species by its distribution, behaviour and white supercilium. There are two recognized subspecies, which are in reality a gradient in morphology and plumage from one extreme to the other.
The tepui spinetail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela.
The red-faced spinetail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama.
The speckled spinetail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The streak-capped spinetail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.
The stripe-crowned spinetail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The crested spinetail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.
Parker's spinetail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru.
The rusty-backed spinetail is a Neotropical species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela, and possibly Guyana.
The white-browed spinetail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The Andean tit-spinetail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The pearled treerunner is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, and possibly Argentina.
The short-billed leaftosser is a species of bird in the subfamily Sclerurinae, the leaftossers and miners, of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The spectacled prickletail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The mountain wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in the Andes of northwestern Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and western Venezuela.
The slender-billed xenops is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The olive-backed woodcreeper is a species of bird in the subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
