The black-throated spinetail (''Synallaxis castanea'') is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Venezuela.

Taxonomy and systematics

For a period in the mid twentieth century the black-throated spinetail was treated as a subspecies of the

rufous spinetail The rufous spinetail (''Synallaxis unirufa'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. References

Synalla ...

(''S. unirufa''); they are now known to be sister species.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 26 November 2023. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved 27 November 2023Derryberry, E. P., S. Claramunt, G. Derryberry, R. T. Chesser, J. Cracraft, A. Aleixo, J. Pérez-Emán, J. V. Remsen, Jr., and R. T. Brumfield. (2011). Lineage diversification and morphological evolution in a large-scale continental radiation: the Neotropical ovenbirds and woodcreepers (Aves: Furnariidae). Evolution 65(10):2973–2986. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01374.x The two of them and the rusty-headed spinetail (''S. fuscorufa'') have been treated by some authors as a single species.Remsen, Jr., J. V. and P. F. D. Boesman (2023). Rufous Spinetail (''Synallaxis unirufa''), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (B. K. Keeney, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rufspi1.01.1 retrieved 8 December 2023 The black-throated spinetail is monotypic.

Description

The black-throated spinetail is long. It is one of the larger members of genus ''Synallaxis''. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults are mostly bright rufescent. They do have a paler chin and the eponymous solid black throat. Their iris is dark reddish brown, their bill blackish, and their legs and feet blue-gray. Juveniles are duller and browner than adults, with a dull and indistinct throat patch and faint dusky markings on the head and underparts.Remsen, Jr., J. V. (2020). Black-throated Spinetail (''Synallaxis castanea''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bltspi1.01 retrieved 8 December 2023

Distribution and habitat

The black-throated spinetail is found only in the

Venezuelan Coastal Range The Venezuelan Coastal Range ( es, Cordillera de la Costa or ), also known as Venezuelan Caribbean Mountain System ( es, Sistema Montañoso Caribe) is a mountain range system and one of the eight natural regions of Venezuela, that runs along the c ...

from Aragua east to the vicinity of

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

in Miranda. It inhabits montane evergreen forest,

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

, and the undergrowth and edges of

cloudforest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

. It is often seen along brushy roadsides and occasionally in stands of ''

Chusquea ''Chusquea'' is a genus of evergreen bamboos in the grass family. Most of them are native to mountain habitats in Latin America, from Mexico to southern Chile and Argentina. They are sometimes referred to as South American mountain bamboos. Unl ...

'' bamboo. In elevation it ranges between .

Behavior

Movement

The black-throated spinetail is a year-round resident throughout its range.

Feeding

The black-throated spinetail's diet is not known in detail but is assumed to be mostly arthropods. It usually forages in pairs and is thought to glean prey from foliage and small branches up to about above the ground.

Breeding

The black-throated spinetail breeds between April and July. Nothing else is known about its breeding biology.

Vocalization

The black-throated spinetail's song is "a rapid 'ke-che-che-che-che-che' followed immediately by louder 'ker-chéé-chéé' " and is often sung in duet. Its call is "a loud 'ki-kík' ".

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed the black-throated spinetail as being of Least Concern. It has a small range; its estimated population of 2500 to 10,000 mature individuals is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified. It is considered fairly common and occurs in two national parks.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q263179 black-throated spinetail Birds of the Venezuelan Coastal Range Endemic birds of Venezuela black-throated spinetail black-throated spinetail Taxonomy articles created by Polbot