Crested spinetail facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Crested spinetail |
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Cranioleuca
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| Species: |
subcristata
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The crested spinetail (Cranioleuca subcristata) is a type of bird. It belongs to the ovenbird family called Furnariidae. You can find this bird in Colombia and Venezuela.
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What is a Crested Spinetail?
The crested spinetail is a small bird. It is about 14 to 15 centimeters (5.5 to 5.9 inches) long. It weighs around 14 grams (0.5 ounces). This bird has a long beak. Even though it's called "crested," it only has a very small crest of feathers. Both male and female birds look the same.
How to Identify a Crested Spinetail
Adult crested spinetails have a light brownish face. Their head has faint stripes of light and dark brown. Their back and tail feathers are brown. Their tail and wings are a dark reddish-brown color. The tips of their wing feathers are dark.
Their chin is a light yellowish-white. Their throat and belly are a dull brownish color. Their eyes can be chestnut or cream-colored. Their beak is brownish-pink on top and yellowish-pink on the bottom. Their legs and feet are yellowish-pink or greenish-yellow.
Young birds are grayer than adults. They have more spots on their belly. The sides of their head might have a reddish tint.
Subspecies Differences
There are two types, or subspecies, of the crested spinetail. One is called C. s. subcristata. The other is C. s. fuscivertex. The C. s. fuscivertex subspecies has darker and clearer stripes on its head than the other type.
Where Do Crested Spinetails Live?
The crested spinetail lives in parts of Colombia and Venezuela. The C. s. subcristata subspecies is found in northwestern and northeastern Venezuela. It also lives in nearby northeastern Colombia. The C. s. fuscivertex subspecies lives in the Serranía del Perijá mountains. These mountains are on the border between Colombia and Venezuela.
What Kind of Places Do They Like?
These birds mainly live in mountain evergreen forests. These are forests where trees stay green all year. Sometimes, they can be found in lowland tropical evergreen forests. They also live in older secondary forests. These are forests that have grown back after being cut down. They can also be found in tree plantations.
Crested spinetails usually live at elevations between 50 and 1,950 meters (160 and 6,400 feet). However, they are not common in the lowlands of Colombia.
Crested Spinetail Behavior
Do Crested Spinetails Move Around?
Crested spinetails stay in the same area all year. They do not migrate.
What Do Crested Spinetails Eat?
Crested spinetails eat arthropods. These are small creatures like insects and spiders. They usually look for food alone or in pairs. They often join groups of different bird species that are feeding together.
They are very agile. They climb along small branches. They pick food from tree bark and other debris. They search for food from the middle to the upper parts of the forest trees.
How Do Crested Spinetails Raise Their Young?
Crested spinetails breed between January and June in northern Venezuela. Their breeding season in other areas is not yet known. Scientists think they are monogamous. This means a male and female bird stay together to raise their young.
Their nest is shaped like a ball. It is mostly made of grass. The entrance to the nest is near the bottom. They hang their nests from the end of a tree branch. Not much else is known about how they raise their young.
What Do Crested Spinetails Sound Like?
The song of the crested spinetail has three high, sharp notes. These are followed by a chattering sound that goes down in pitch. It sounds like "pzeep, pzeep, pzeep, pee-pee-pe-e-e-e." Their calls include a sharp "tsink" and a low rattling sound.
How Are Crested Spinetails Doing?
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has looked at the crested spinetail. They have assessed it as being of "Least Concern." This means it is not currently in danger of extinction.
The bird lives in a large area. Its total population size is not known. However, scientists believe the population is stable. No immediate threats to the species have been found. It is considered fairly common in most of its range. But it is rare in the lowlands of Colombia. It lives in three national parks in Venezuela.
