Spix's Spinetail

About the Spix's Spinetail

Spix's spinetail (Synallaxis spixi), previously known as the chicli spinetail, is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

Spix's spinetail is monotypic. However, what is now the cinereous-breasted spinetail (S. hypospodia) was previously treated as a subspecies of it. The two are considered sister species. The species' English name and specific epithet commemorate the German naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix (1782-1826). The previous name "chicli spinetail" is supposedly onomatopeoic, but does not resemble the species' song. It is thought to have once been more properly applied to the sooty-fronted spinetail (S. frontalis).

Spix's spinetail is 16 to 17 cm (6.3 to 6.7 in) long and weighs about 12 to 15 g (0.42 to 0.53 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a pale gray supercilium on an otherwise grayish brown face. Their crown is rufous and their back, rump and uppertail coverts dark brown. Their lesser wing coverts are rufous, their median and greater wing coverts dark brown with wide rufous edges, and their flight feathers... Wikipedia →