Streak-capped Spinetail

Overview

The streak-capped spinetail (Cranioleuca hellmayri) is a species of bird in the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is a small, montane bird primarily found in the isolated Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia, with a single record from the Serranía del Perijá in Venezuela.

Identification

• Measures 14 to 15 cm in length and weighs between 14 to 16 g.
• Distinctive reddish chestnut crown with blackish streaks, contrasting with a narrow whitish supercilium on a dark brownish and buff face.
• Underparts are pale brownish grey or greyish olive, while the wings and tail are reddish chestnut.
• Produces a shrill, squeaky trill that accelerates, described as "ti, ti, t, t-t-t-t".

Habitat

This species inhabits montane evergreen forest, utilising both primary and secondary growth. In Colombia, it is found almost exclusively in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta at elevations between 1,200 and 3,000 m, while a single specimen was collected at 700 m in Venezuela.

Diet

The streak-capped spinetail feeds on arthropods, usually foraging in pairs or as part of a mixed-species flock. It acrobatically gleans prey from bark, epiphytes, and debris while hitching along small branches, typically in the middle levels or subcanopy of the forest.

Did you know?

Its nest is constructed as a ball of grass and leaves that is hung from a branch, though very little is known about its breeding biology beyond the discovery of eggs between September and November.