Azara's spinetail

Azara's spinetail
S. azarae, Pasco, Peru
Song of Azara's spinetail
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Furnariidae
Genus: Synallaxis
Species:
S. azarae
Binomial name
Synallaxis azarae
D'Orbigny, 1835
Synonyms
  • Synallaxis superciliosa
  • Synallaxis elegantior

Azara's spinetail (Synallaxis azarae) is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.[2]

Taxonomy and systematics

Azara's spinetail has these nine subspecies:[2]

Subspecies S. a. samaipatae and S. a. superciliosa were together once treated as a separate species, the "buff-browed spinetail". Similarly, S. a. elegantior, S. a. media, S. a. ochracea, and S. a. fruticicola were treated as one species.[3][4]

Azara's spinetail is named after Spanish naturalist Félix de Azara.[5]

Description

Azara's spinetail is 15 to 18 cm (5.9 to 7.1 in) long and weighs 12 to 18 g (0.42 to 0.63 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies S. a. azarae have a brownish gray face with a slightly paler supercilium. Their forehead and forecrown are dark grayish brown, their hindcrown and nape dark rufous, and their back, rump and uppertail coverts rich olive-brown. Their wings are mostly rufous-chestnut with dark brownish tips on their flight feathers. Their tail is dull chestnut-brown; the tail is graduated and the feathers have somewhat pointed tips. Their chin and edges of their throat are pale grayish with darker tips on the feathers; the center of their throat is sooty black with pale edges on the feathers. Their breast is dark brownish gray, their belly paler and grayer with faint mottling, and their flanks and undertail coverts browner than the breast and belly. Their iris is reddish brown to chestnut, their maxilla black to dark gray, their mandible gray or blue-gray (sometimes with a blackish base or tip), and their legs and feet olive-gray to grayish green. Juveniles have a brown crown and back, an indistinct throat patch, and a pale brown to ochraeceous wash on their underparts.[3]

The other subspecies of Azara's spinetail differ from the nominate and each other thus:[3][6][7][8]

  • S. a. elegantior: paler than the nominate, with a white spot on the lores, a fainter supercilium, and more fulvous flanks
  • S. a. media: paler than elegantior, with an even fainter supercilium and smaller loral spot, grayer chest, and paler and more olivaceous flanks
  • S. a. ochracea: paler than the nominate (especially the crown and wing coverts), with a more buffy brown back, very pale underparts, and an ochraceous tinge to the flanks
  • S. a. fruticicola: lighter than the nominate but darker than ochrachea
  • S. a. infumata: similar to the nominate, with more gray on the forehead and brighter rufous wing coverts
  • S. a. urubambae: similar to the nominate, but with a darker tail tinged olivaceous gray, brighter wing coverts, and dull rufous edges on the flight feathers.
  • S. a. samaipatae: paler than the nominate, with faint rufous edges on the forehead feathers, a buffish supercilium, and medium gray face and breast
  • S. a. superciliosa: paler than the nominate, with a more prominent and buff supercilium, and light brown underparts with a whitish belly

Distribution and habitat

The subspecies of Azara's spinetail are found thus:[3]

Azara's spinetail inhabits a variety of semi-open landscapes both humid and drier, including the edges of montane evergreen forest, secondary forest, the edges of cloudforest and elfin forest, bushy pastures and roadsides, riparian thickets, and in Argentina semi-deciduous and deciduous woodlands. It tends to remain in dense vegetation near the ground. In most of its range it occurs between elevations of 1,500 and 3,500 m (4,900 and 11,500 ft). In Bolivia and Argentina it occurs lower, mostly between 600 and 1,600 m (2,000 and 5,200 ft). In Ecuador it occurs locally down to 900 m (3,000 ft) or lower and in Colombia down to 1,200 m (3,900 ft).[3][6][7][8]

Behavior

Movement

Azara's spinetail is a year-round resident throughout its range.[3]

Feeding

Azara's spinetail feeds on arthropods; its diet also includes small seeds. It usually forages in pairs and sometimes joins mixed-species feeding flocks. It gleans prey from foliage, small branches, and occasionally dead leaves. It usually stays below about 2 m (7 ft) of the ground but has been recorded feeding as high as 6 m (20 ft).[3][7]

Breeding

Azara's spinetail has a wide breeding season including both wet and dry months; in some areas it may breed year round. Eggs have been noted between February and April in Colombia and Ecuador, and fledglings between May and September from Colombia to Peru. The species is monogamous. Its nest is a longish mass of sticks with a horizontal or upward entrance tube; the inner chamber is lined with soft plant material and sometimes includes shed snake skin. It is placed low to the ground in dense vegetation. The clutch size is two to four eggs. The incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known.[3]

Dickcissel male perched on a metal pole singing, with neck stretched and beak open.

Songs and calls
Listen to Azara's spinetail on xeno-canto

Vocalization

Azara's spinetail is quite vocal, repeating for minutes at a time a sharp "ket-kwééék", "pip-squeak", or "ka-kweeék". It also makes "scratchy, nasal 'prrt' notes", " 'kweek-kweek' notes", and a "low short 'chur' or 'trrt' ".[3][7]

Status

The IUCN has assessed Azara's spinetail as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range, and though its population size is not known it is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] It is considered fairly common to common in most of its range and occurs in many protected areas. It "[t]olerates moderate anthropogenic disturbance [and] presumably benefits from forest fragmentation".[3]

References

  1. ^ a b BirdLife International (2016). "Azara's Spinetail Synallaxis azarae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22702290A93867048. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22702290A93867048.en. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2023). "Ovenbirds, woodcreepers". IOC World Bird List. v 13.2. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Remsen, Jr., J. V. (2020). Azara's Spinetail (Synallaxis azarae), 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.azaspi1.01 retrieved December 6, 2023
  4. ^ 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 26 November 2023. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved November 27, 2023
  5. ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael (2003). Whose Bird? Men and Women Commemorated in the Common Names of Birds. London: Christopher Helm. p. 34.
  6. ^ a b McMullan, Miles; Donegan, Thomas M.; Quevedo, Alonso (2010). Field Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Bogotá: Fundación ProAves. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-9827615-0-2.
  7. ^ a b c d Ridgely, Robert S.; Greenfield, Paul J. (2001). The Birds of Ecuador: Field Guide. Vol. II. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. p. 349. ISBN 978-0-8014-8721-7.
  8. ^ 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.