Streak-backed tit-spinetail facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Streak-backed tit-spinetail |
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Leptasthenura
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striata
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The streak-backed tit-spinetail (also called the streaked tit-spinetail) is a small bird found in Chile and Peru. Its scientific name is Leptasthenura striata. This bird belongs to the ovenbird family called Furnariidae.
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About This Bird
The streak-backed tit-spinetail is a small bird, usually about 14.5 to 16.5 centimeters (about 6 inches) long. It weighs around 8.5 to 10.5 grams, which is about as much as a few paper clips! It has a long tail and a short beak. Both male and female birds look very similar.
What It Looks Like
This bird has a black crown (the top of its head) with reddish-brown stripes. Its back is streaked with dark brown and light tan colors. The streaks fade towards its rump, which is mostly plain olive-brown.
Its wings have dark feathers with wide, reddish-brown edges. When its wings are folded, you can see a patch of reddish-brown. The tail feathers are mostly dark brown, but the outer ones are lighter, almost pale gray-brown. The tips of its tail feathers look a bit spiny because the feather shafts are bare.
The bird's throat is white, sometimes with a few dark spots. Its chest and belly are grayish-white with faint white streaks. It has brown eyes and a black beak with a yellow lower part. Its legs and feet are black.
Young streak-backed tit-spinetails look a bit different. Their crown is mostly plain gray-brown, and they have dark, wavy marks on their chest. Their wings also have more reddish-brown than adult birds.
Different Types of Streak-backed Tit-spinetails
There are three slightly different types, or subspecies, of the streak-backed tit-spinetail:
- L. s. striata: This is the main type, found in southern Peru and Chile.
- L. s. superciliaris: This type lives in northern Peru. It has a reddish-brown crown and lighter streaks on its back and wings.
- L. s. albigularis: This type is found in southwestern Peru. It is similar to superciliaris but has a completely white throat with no spots.
Where It Lives
The streak-backed tit-spinetail lives along the western side of the Andes mountains in Peru and Chile.
Its Home Environment
This bird mostly lives in dry mountain areas with shrubs. Some of these areas have cacti and bromeliad plants. It can also be found in forests with Polylepis trees.
It usually lives at high elevations. In Peru, it is found between 2,000 and 4,200 meters (about 6,500 to 13,800 feet) above sea level, though sometimes as low as 900 meters (about 3,000 feet). In Chile, it lives between 3,000 and 4,000 meters (about 9,800 to 13,000 feet) high.
Bird Behavior
Movement
The streak-backed tit-spinetail stays in the same area all year round. It does not migrate.
Feeding Habits
This bird eats arthropods, which are creatures like insects and spiders. We don't know all the details of its diet yet.
It usually looks for food in pairs or small family groups. Sometimes, it joins other types of birds that are foraging together. It finds its food by picking prey off leaves, flowers, and small branches in shrubs and trees. Occasionally, it will also look for food on the ground.
Life Cycle and Reproduction
We don't know much about when the streak-backed tit-spinetail breeds, but it seems to happen in April and May. Scientists are still learning about how these birds raise their young.
Vocalization
The song of the streak-backed tit-spinetail is described as a sad but musical series of high, ringing whistles. It sounds like tchee-LEEa'LEEa'LEEa'LEEa'LEEa'LEEa'LEE.
Its calls include a slightly wheezy twet and a trit. It also makes a harsh cht or tzip sound. Sometimes, it makes a sharper, chattering series of less musical tcht and tsit notes, or a lower, gruff tchut.
Conservation Status
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has listed the streak-backed tit-spinetail as a species of "Least Concern." This means it is not currently in danger of extinction.
Even though it has a large area where it lives, we don't know exactly how many of these birds there are. Scientists believe their numbers might be slowly going down. Luckily, there are no big, immediate threats to this bird. It is considered fairly common and is probably not much affected by human activities, except for local habitat loss in some places.
