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Vilcabamba spinetail

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Species of bird Not to be confused with Vilcabamba thistletail.

Vilcabamba spinetail
Conservation status

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Furnariidae
Genus: Cranioleuca
Species: C. weskei
Binomial name
Cranioleuca weskei
Remsen, 1984
Synonyms

Cranioleuca marcapatae weskei
Remsen, 1984

The Vilcabamba spinetail (Cranioleuca weskei) is a species of passerine bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Peru.

Taxonomy and systematics

The Vicabamba spinetail's taxonomy is unsettled. It was originally described as a subspecies of the Marcapata spinetail (C. marcapatae). The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society and the Clements taxonomy retain that treatment. BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World split it as a separate species in 2016 and the International Ornithological Committee followed suit in 2023.

The Vilcabamba spinetail is monotypic.

Description

The Vilcabamba spinetail is 14.5 to 16 cm (5.7 to 6.3 in) long and weighs about 20 g (0.71 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a grayish face washed with buff. Their crown and a short crest are white with black on the sides. Their nape is grayish and their back, tail, and wings are rufous. Their throat is white and their breast and belly are grayish buff. Their iris is reddish brown, their maxilla grayish horn, their mandible silvery to blue-gray, and their legs and feet olive green.

Distribution and habitat

The Vilcabamba spinetail is found in southeastern Peru, in the Vilcabamba Mountains of western Cuzco Department, in the Mantaro Valley of southeastern Junín Department, and in northern Ayacucho Department. It inhabits the understory of humid evergreen montane forest, where it favors areas with thickets of Chusquea bamboo. In elevation it ranges from 2,400 to 3,350 m (7,900 to 11,000 ft).

Behavior

Movement

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

Feeding

The Vilcabamba spinetail feeds on arthropods but details are not known. It forages in pairs or in small groups thought to be families, usually as part of a mixed-species feeding flock. It gleans prey from moss, bromeliads, and bark while hitching along limbs. It forages mostly between about 2 and 10 m (7 and 30 ft) of the ground.

Breeding

The Vilcabamba spinetail's breeding season has not been defined; young of various ages of this species or the Marcapata spinetail have been recorded in February, April, May, August, and December. Nothing else is known about the species' breeding biology.

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

Songs and calls
Listen to Vilcabamba spinetail in the Marcapata spinetail list on xeno-canto

Vocalization

The Vilcabamba spinetail's song and call have not be put into words. Both xeno-canto and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library have recordings within their Marcapata spinetail collections.

Status

The IUCN originally assessed the Vilcabamba spinetail as Near Threatened but since 2020 has rated it as being of Least Concern. It has a restricted range and an unknown population size that is believed to be decreasing. "The primary threat to this species is deforestation, as it is feared to be susceptible to forest fragmentation and edge effects."

References

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2020). "Vicabamba Spinetail Cranioleuca weskei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T103674478A180873337. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T103674478A180873337.en. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  2. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2023). "Ovenbirds, woodcreepers". IOC World Bird List. v 13.2. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  3. Remsen, J.V. Jr. (1984). "Geographic variation, zoogeography, and possible rapid evolution in some Cranioluca spinetails (Furnariidae) of the Andes". Wilson Bulletin. 96 (4): 515–523.
  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 28 September 2023. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved October 20, 2023
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. ^ Schulenberg, T. S. and T. Johnson (2020). Marcapata Spinetail (Cranioleuca marcapatae), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.marspi2.01 retrieved November 12, 2023
Taxon identifiers
Cranioleuca weskei
Cranioleuca marcapatae weskei
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