The Chinchipe spinetail (''Synallaxis chinchipensis'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the family Furnariidae, the ovenbirds. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The Chinchipe spinetail was long considered a subspecies of the necklaced spinetail (''Synallaxis stictothorax''). Several publications beginning in 2010 described the morphological, vocal, and

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

differences between them. Based on that evidence, the South American Classification Committee of the

American Ornithological Society The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its ...

and the

International Ornithological Congress International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

elevated it to species rank in January 2021.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 19 January 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved January 20, 2021 The

Clements taxonomy ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'' is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world. The most recent printed version is the sixth edition (2007), but has been updated yearly, the last version in 202 ...

followed suit in August 2021.Clements, J. F., P.C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved October 28, 2023 The Chinchipe spinetail is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

Description

The Chinchipe spinetail is long. It is one of the smallest members of genus ''Synallaxis''. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a buffy

supercilium The supercilium is a plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. It is a stripe which runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head.Dunn and Alderfer (2006), p. 10 Also k ...

on an otherwise blackish face with faint whitish streaks. Their forecrown has black and white streaks. The rest of their crown is dull grayish brown, their back slightly browner, their rump rufescent-brown, and their uppertail

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are small feathers behind t ...

bright rufous. The wing has whitish at the bend; the coverts and secondaries are rufous and the

primaries Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

dusky. Their tail is bright rufous but for the dark brownish central pair of feathers. Their throat is white, their breast buffy white with black spots, their belly whitish, and their flanks and undertail coverts grayish. Their iris is brown to reddish brown or brownish red, their bill black (sometimes with much gray on the

mandible In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone i ...

), and their legs and feet blue-gray to dark gray. The juvenile plumage has not been described.del Hoyo, J., J. V. Remsen, Jr., G. M. Kirwan, P. F. D. Boesman, and N. Collar (2021). Necklaced Spinetail (''Synallaxis stictothorax''), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (H. F. Greeney, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.necspi1.01.1 retrieved November 23, 2023del Hoyo, J., J. V. Remsen, Jr., G. M. Kirwan, P. F. D. Boesman, and N. Collar (2021). Chinchipe Spinetail (''Synallaxis chinchipensis''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (H. F. Greeney, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.necspi3.01 retrieved November 23, 2023

Distribution and habitat

The Chinchipe spinetail is found only in northwestern Peru, in the drainages of

Río Marañón Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...

and Río Chinchipe in the

Department of Cajamarca Cajamarca (; ; ) is a department and region in Peru. The capital is the city of Cajamarca. It is located in the north part of the country and shares a border with Ecuador. The city has an elevation of above sea level in the Andes Mountain Ra ...

. It inhabits scrub and the edges of deciduous woods, mostly between of elevation.

Behavior

Movement

The Chinchipe spinetail is a year-round resident throughout its range.

Feeding

The Chinchipe spinetail's principal foods are

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

s and arthropod larvae. It usually feeds within of the ground, gleaning from moss, leaves, and small branches in pairs or mixed-species flocks.

Breeding

Nothing is known about the Chinchipe spinetail's breeding biology.

Vocalization

The Chinchipe spinetail's song is a "short rhythmic phrase consisting of a rising trill followed by a loud squeak and a stuttered monotone trill, rendered ''tr’r’r’r’up-KSEEP’tra’a’a'' or ''turree-TYEE-trrree''". It also makes a "rattled series of notes...which may go up and down in pace and pitch". Both vocalizations are often given in duet. Pairs sing mostly in the morning and typically from within dense scrub.

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has assessed the Chinchipe spinetail as being of Least Concern. It has a limited range; its population size is not known but is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified. It appears to be fairly common and to tolerate some habitat degradation.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q25354214 Chinchipe spinetail Endemic birds of Peru Chinchipe spinetail