''Synallaxis'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 ...

s in the ovenbird family, Furnariidae. It is one of the most diverse genera in the family and is composed of small birds that inhabit dense undergrowth across tropical and subtropical habitats in the

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeogra ...

region. Some species show contrasting plumage patterns involving rufous crown and wing patches and black throat patches but they are difficult to see as they keep ensconced in vegetation most of the time. Most species show the long graduated tail with pointy feathers that is typical of spinetails. They are also characterized by constructing large domed nests with stick, including a long entrance tube. Some species can be difficult to distinguish from one another on the basis of their plumage, but can be told apart by their vocalizations, which can be quite distinctive.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Synallaxis'' was introduced in 1818 by the French ornithologist

Louis Pierre Vieillot Louis Pierre Vieillot (10 May 1748, Yvetot – 24 August 1830, Sotteville-lès-Rouen) was a French ornithologist. Vieillot is the author of the first scientific descriptions and Linnaean names of a number of birds, including species he collected ...

. The name is from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

''sunallaxis'' meaning "exchange". Vieillot did not specify a

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

but in 1840 George Gray designated the rufous-capped spinetail. The genus contains 37 species: Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species as species within the genus ''Synallaxis'': * White-browed spinetail (as ''Synallaxis gularis'') * Chotoy spinetail (as ''Synallaxis phryganophila'') * White-bellied spinetail (as ''Synallaxis propinqua'')

References

External links

''Synallaxis''.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
''Synallaxis'' species.
BirdLife International. Bird genera Taxa named by Louis Pierre Vieillot {{Furnariidae-stub