White-browed Spinetail

About the White-browed Spinetail

The white-browed spinetail (Hellmayrea gularis) is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Several twentieth century authors placed the white-browed spinetail in genus Synallaxis. Data published in the early twenty-first century confirm its placement in Hellmayrea, and showed that it is not closely related to Synallaxis but instead to genus Asthenes.

The white-browed spinetail is the only member of its genus and has these four subspecies: H. g. gularis (Lafresnaye, 1843) H. g. brunneidorsalis (Phelps, WH & Phelps, WH Jr, 1953) H. g. cinereiventris (Chapman, 1912) H. g. rufiventris (Berlepsch & Stolzmann, 1896) The white-browed spinetail is 11 to 13.5 cm (4.3 to 5.3 in) long and weighs 11 to 15 g (0.39 to 0.53 oz). It has a short tail compared to other spinetails. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies H. g. gularis have whitish supercilia that almost meet on the forehead on an otherwise dark rufescent brown face. Their forehead, crown, and nape are rufescent brown with faint paler streaks. Their upperparts and... Wikipedia →