The rusty-headed spinetail (''Synallaxis fuscorufa'') is a
Near Threatened species of
bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird
family Furnariidae. It is
endemic to
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
.
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Taxonomy and systematics
The rusty-headed spinetail, rufous spinetail
The rufous spinetail (''Synallaxis unirufa'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
References
Synalla ...
(''S. unirufa''), and black-throated spinetail
The black-throated spinetail (''Synallaxis castanea'') is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Venezuela.
Taxonomy and systematics
For a period in the mid twentieth century ...
(''S. castanea'') are closely related and some authors have treated them as a single species.[Remsen, Jr., J. V. and P. F. D. Boesman (2023). Rufous Spinetail (''Synallaxis unirufa''), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (B. K. Keeney, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rufspi1.01.1 retrieved December 8, 2023] The rusty-headed spinetail is monotypic.[
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Description
The rusty-headed spinetail is long and weighs . The sexes have the same plumage. Adults are mostly bright reddish rufous. They do have dark lores, a dull grayish olive back, olive flanks, and a somewhat duller rufous tail. Their iris is reddish brown, their maxilla black, their mandible blue-gray, and their legs and feet gray to blue-gray. Juveniles have a much duller crown than adults, and tawny-olive edges on their underparts' feathers and faint barring on their belly. Their irises are light brown and their mandible yellowish pink.[Remsen, Jr., J. V. (2020). Rusty-headed Spinetail (''Synallaxis fuscorufa''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.ruhspi1.01 retrieved December 8, 2023]
Distribution and habitat
The rusty-headed spinetail is found only in the isolated Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta of northern Colombia. It occurs only locally, inhabiting the bushy edges and undergrowth of evergreen forest, overgrown clearings, and second-growth scrub in the subtropical and temperate zones of the mountain range. In elevation it mostly ranges between but occurs as low as .[
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Behavior
Movement
The rusty-headed spinetail is a year-round resident throughout its range.[
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Feeding
The rusty-headed spinetail feeds on arthropods. It usually forages in pairs, gleaning prey from foliage and small branches in dense cover up to about above the ground.[
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Breeding
The rusty-headed spinetail's breeding season appears to include January to June. Nothing else is known about its breeding biology.[
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Vocalization
The rusty-headed spinetail's song is "3 fast notes, di-di-du".[ It is often repeated at short intervals for minutes at a time.][
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Status
The IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
originally in 2004 assessed the rusty-headed spinetail as Vulnerable but since 2021 has rated it Near Threatened. It has a small range; its estimated population of between 2500 and 10,000 mature individuals is believed to be stable. "Only 15% of the original vegetation in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is currently unaltered" and forests are "at risk from illegal agricultural expansion, encroachment, logging and burning".[ It is considered fairly common to common but local.][
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References
External links
BirdLife International Species Factsheet
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1272365
rusty-headed spinetail
Birds of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
Endemic birds of Colombia
rusty-headed spinetail
rusty-headed spinetail
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot