Ochre-cheeked spinetail
| Ochre-cheeked spinetail | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Furnariidae |
| Genus: | Synallaxis |
| Species: | S. scutata
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| Binomial name | |
| Synallaxis scutata Sclater, PL, 1859
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The ochre-cheeked spinetail (Synallaxis scutata) is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae.[2] It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Peru.[3]
Taxonomy and systematics[edit]
The ochre-cheeked spinetail and two other spinetails have been placed by some authors in genus Poecilurus but there are insufficient plumage, behavioral, and genetic differences to support that treatment.[4] The ochre-cheeked spinetail is not even closely related to the other two but is a sister species to the grey-bellied spinetail (S. cinerascens).[5]
Beyond the confirmation that the ochre-cheeked spinetail belongs in genus Synallaxis its taxonomy is unsetted. The International Ornithological Committee and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World assign it two subspecies, the nominate S. s. scutata (Sclater, PL, 1859) and S. s. whitii (Sclater, PL, 1881). The Clements taxonomy adds a third, S. s. teretiala (Owen, 1985) that the other two systems include within the nominate.[2][6][7] Remsen (2020) states that teretiala and a proposed subspecies neglecta are indistinguishable from the nominate.[4]
This article follows the two-subspecies model.
Description[edit]
The ochre-cheeked spinetail is 13 to 14 cm (5.1 to 5.5 in) long and weighs 12 to 19 g (0.42 to 0.67 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a wide white supercilium, blackish lores, a fuzzy dark brownish line behind the eye, and ochraceous ear coverts and malar region. Their forehead has a blackish spot. Their crown and upper back are grayish brown and the rest of their back is dark rufous that narrows to the rump, replace by grayish brown. Their uppertail coverts are rufous. Their wings are mostly dark rufous with dark brownish lesser coverts and primary tips. Their tail is rufous; the tips of the feathers have no barbs giving a spiny appearance. Their throat is white with a black crescent on its lower part. Their breast is pinkish brown to pale ochraceous buff that becomes more ochraceous by the undertail coverts; the belly is paler and has a white center. Their iris is dark chestnut to reddish brown or brown, their maxilla black to dark gray, their mandible gray to blue-gray (sometimes with a dark tip), and their legs and feet greenish gray to yellowish olive. Juveniles have faint dark scallops on the breast. Subspecies S. s. whitii has uniform brown upperparts with no rufous, with darker rufous wings and tail and deeper ochraceous face and underparts than the nominate.[4][8][9]
Distribution and habitat[edit]
The nominate subspecies of the ochre-cheeked spinetail is found in eastern and central Brazil. Subspecies S. s. whitii is found in southern Brazil's Mato Grosso state, southeastern Bolivia, extreme northwestern Paraguay, and northwestern Argentina in Jujuy and Salta provinces and perhaps as far south as Catamarca Province. The species is also found in southeastern Peru and northwestern Bolivia; these individuals might belong to whitii or represent an undescribed subspecies.[4]
The ochre-cheeked spinetail generally inhabits the undergrowth and edges of semi-deciduous and deciduous forest; in Brazil the forest is found in caatinga and cerrado ecoregions. In elevation it ranges from near sea level to 1,700 m (5,600 ft).[4][8][9]
Behavior[edit]
Movement[edit]
The ochre-cheeked spinetail is a year-round resident throughout its range.[4]
Feeding[edit]
The ochre-cheeked spinetail feeds on arthropods. It typically forages in pairs and occasionally joins mixed-species feeding flocks. It gleans most of its prey from the ground.[4]
Breeding[edit]
The ochre-cheeked spinetail is thought to breed during the austral spring and summer or the local wet season. Eggs have been noted in eastern Brazil in April and nestlings have been seen in Argentina in November. Its nest is a mass of twigs, roots, and dead leaves that can be twice as long as it is wide; a horizontal tube leads to the egg chamber. It is placed on the ground where it resembles a pile of debris. The clutch size is two to three eggs. The incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known.[4]
Vocalization[edit]
The ochre-cheeked spinetail's song is an "extr. high, thin 'fweeet puh-wit', 1st part upslurred, 2nd note lower pitched than 1st and 3rd". It is "constantly repeated at 1-sec. intervals".[8]
Status[edit]
The IUCN has assessed the ochre-cheeked spinetail as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range and an unknown population size that is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] It is considered uncommon to locally fairly common and occurs in a few protected areas.[4]
References[edit]
- ^ a b BirdLife International (2018). "Ochre-cheeked Spinetail Synallaxis scutata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22702399A130274098. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22702399A130274098.en. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2023). "Ovenbirds, woodcreepers". IOC World Bird List. v 13.2. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 28 September 2023. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved October 20, 2023
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Remsen, Jr., J. V. (2020). Ochre-cheeked Spinetail (Synallaxis scutata), 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.occspi1.01 retrieved November 20, 2023
- ^ Derryberry, E. P., S. Claramunt, G. Derryberry, R. T. Chesser, J. Cracraft, A. Aleixo, J. Pérez-Emán, J. V. Remsen, Jr., and R. T. Brumfield. (2011). Lineage diversification and morphological evolution in a large-scale continental radiation: the Neotropical ovenbirds and woodcreepers (Aves: Furnariidae). Evolution 65(10):2973–2986. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01374.x
- ^ HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip retrieved December 13, 2022
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c van Perlo, Ber (2009). A Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 214. ISBN 978-0-19-530155-7.
- ^ a b de la Peña, Martín R.; Rumboll, Maurice (2001). Birds of Southern South America and Antarctica. Princeton Illustrated Checklists. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. Plate 62. ISBN 0691090351.