Chestnut-throated Spinetail

Overview

The chestnut-throated spinetail (Synallaxis cherriei) is a small ovenbird belonging to the subfamily Furnariinae. It is a year-round resident primarily found in South America, with a disjunct distribution across Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

Identification

• Length approximately 13 to 15 cm (5.1 to 5.9 in) with a weight of 14 to 17 g (0.49 to 0.60 oz).
• Adult males possess a deep rufous-chestnut forecrown, face, throat, and breast, contrasting with a slaty-black graduated tail and dark brown rump.
• Wings feature chestnut coverts and dark fuscous flight feathers; females are similar but with slightly paler throats and bellies.
• Song consists of a 'prruh-pih' phrase (second note higher) delivered in long series with short interruptions, accompanied foraging calls like 'psiu' and 'piwwwh'.

Habitat

This species inhabits a disjunct range, with the nominate subspecies in the central Amazon Basin of Brazil, napoensis in south-western Colombia and north-eastern Ecuador, and saturata in northern and central Peru and Bolivia. In Amazonian Brazil, it is mostly associated with Chusquea bamboo stands in terra firme forest, whereas western populations favour the thick understorey of lowland and foothill primary and secondary forests without a specific bamboo association.

Diet

The chestnut-throated spinetail feeds on arthropods, typically foraging in pairs within dense vegetation about 3 m (10 ft) from the ground, though it may occasionally reach the ground or up to 8 m (26 ft) in height.

Did you know?

Originally assessed as Threatened in 1988 and Near Threatened in 2004, the species was downgraded to Least Concern in 2021, despite its population size being unknown and believed to be decreasing. It is particularly vulnerable to habitat fragmentation because periodic large-scale bamboo die-offs can isolate birds in sub-optimal habitats if they cannot cross hostile non-forest matrices.