Grey-headed Spinetail

Overview

The grey-headed spinetail, Cranioleuca semicinerea, is a species of ovenbird endemic to Brazil. It is assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN, though its population is believed to be decreasing. This small passerine belongs to the Furnariinae subfamily of the family Furnariidae.

Identification

• Measures 14 to 16 cm in length and weighs 14 to 16 g.
• Features a pale grey face with a faint whitish supercilium and a grey-brown eyeline, a pale buffy-grey forehead, and a slightly darker grey crest.
• Back, wings, and tail are rufous-brown, with graduated tail feathers that appear spiny at the tips.
• Throat and belly are pale grey, while the breast, flanks, and undertail coverts are darker grey; the iris is amber to dark brown and the bill is dusky pinkish with a dark tip.
• Song consists of an extra-high 'tsit-tsit-tsit' that bounces down into a rattle, accompanied by a high 'trwit' call.

Habitat

Found in eastern Brazil from Ceará south to Goiás and slightly into Minas Gerais, inhabiting dry deciduous and semi-deciduous forests, woodlands, and the edges of humid evergreen forest. It occupies elevations between 500 and 850 m. The species is a year-round resident within its range.

Diet

Feeds primarily on arthropods, foraging typically in pairs as part of mixed-species flocks. It acrobatically gleans prey from bark and debris while hitching along small branches high in the subcanopy and canopy.

Did you know?

The nest is an oval ball constructed from moss and rootlets with a side entrance, typically wrapped around a horizontal branch situated 5 to 12 m above the ground.