Tit-spinetail

Tit-spinetails
Plain-mantled tit-spinetail, Leptasthenura aegithaloides
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Furnariidae
Genus:	Leptasthenura Reichenbach, 1853
Type species
Synallaxis aegithaloides Plain-mantled tit-spinetail Kittlitz, 1830
Species
See text

Tit-spinetails are small passerine birds of the genus Leptasthenura, belonging to the ovenbird family Furnariidae. They are found in South America, particularly the southern and Andean parts of the continent. They are somewhat similar to birds of the tit family in their shape and feeding behaviour, hence the first part of their name. The "spinetail" part of their name refers to their long, pointed tail feathers. Tit-spinetails have short rounded wings, short pointed bills and are mainly brown in colour. Their nests are built in holes or the old nests of other birds.

Taxonomy

The genus Leptasthenura was introduced in 1853 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach. ^[1] The name combines the Ancient Greek leptos meaning "thin", asthenēs meaning "weak" and oura meaning "tail". ^[2] The type species was designated as the plain-mantled tit-spinetail by George Robert Gray in 1855. ^{[3] [4]}

Species

The genus contains nine species: ^[5]

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
	Leptasthenura fuliginiceps	Brown-capped tit-spinetail	puna and sierras de Cordoba
	Leptasthenura platensis	Tufted tit-spinetail	Argentina and Uruguay
	Leptasthenura aegithaloides	Plain-mantled tit-spinetail	southern Peru to northern Patagonia
	Leptasthenura striolata	Striolated tit-spinetail	southern Brazil
	Leptasthenura pileata	Rusty-crowned tit-spinetail	Peruvian Andes
	Leptasthenura xenothorax	White-browed tit-spinetail	southern Peru
	Leptasthenura striata	Streak-backed tit-spinetail	puna grassland
	Leptasthenura andicola	Andean tit-spinetail	northern Andes
	Leptasthenura setaria	Araucaria tit-spinetail	southern Brazil and northern selva misionera

The tawny tit-spinetail is placed together with Des Murs's wiretail in the genus Sylviorthorhynchus . ^[5]

References

1. Reichenbach, Ludwig (1853). "Icones ad synopsin avium No. 10 Scansoriae A". Handbuch der speciellen Ornithologie (in German). Dresden und Leipzig: Expedition Vollständigsten Naturgeschichte. pp. 145–218 [145, 160].
2. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 222. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
3. Gray, George Robert (1855). Catalogue of the Genera and Subgenera of Birds Contained in the British Museum. London: British Museum. p. 27.
4. Peters, James Lee, ed. (1951). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 7. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 74.
5. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2021). "Ovenbirds, woodcreepers". IOC World Bird List Version 11.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 29 June 2021.