Slaty Spinetail
Encyclopedia
The Slaty Spinetail or Slaty Castlebuilder, (Synallaxis brachyura), is a passerine
bird
which breeds in the tropical New World
from northern Honduras
to western Ecuador
and east-central Brazil
.
It is a member of the South America
n bird family Furnariidae
, a group in which many species build elaborate clay nests, giving rise to the English
name for the family of "ovenbirds".
However, the Slaty Spinetail constructs a bulky spherical stick nest 36x43 cm in size, with a long tubular entrance, 0.4–4.5 m high in a shrub or vine
covered tree. It lays two or three greenish white egg
s.
This species is a widespread and common resident breeder in lowlands and up to 1500 m altitude in a range of scrubby habitats, including second growth, road and river edges, and overgrown pasture.
The Slaty Spinetail is typically 15 cm long, and weighs 18.5 g. It is a slender bird with a long, pointed wispy tail. The plumage
is mainly dark grey-brown becoming dark grey on the head. The crown and shoulder patches are rich rufous.
Sexes are similar, but young birds are duller and browner with a yellowish chin.
The Slaty Spinetail is an insectivore
which is difficult to see as it forages for beetles, caterpillars and other prey deep in tangled thickets, but may be located by its hard chu-chu-chrrrr call.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
which breeds in the tropical New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
from northern Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
to western Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
and east-central Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
It is a member of the South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n bird family Furnariidae
Ovenbird
The Ovenbird is a small songbird of the New World warbler family . This migratory bird breeds in eastern North America and moves south in winter.-Taxonomy:...
, a group in which many species build elaborate clay nests, giving rise to the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
name for the family of "ovenbirds".
However, the Slaty Spinetail constructs a bulky spherical stick nest 36x43 cm in size, with a long tubular entrance, 0.4–4.5 m high in a shrub or vine
Vine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
covered tree. It lays two or three greenish white egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s.
This species is a widespread and common resident breeder in lowlands and up to 1500 m altitude in a range of scrubby habitats, including second growth, road and river edges, and overgrown pasture.
The Slaty Spinetail is typically 15 cm long, and weighs 18.5 g. It is a slender bird with a long, pointed wispy tail. The plumage
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
is mainly dark grey-brown becoming dark grey on the head. The crown and shoulder patches are rich rufous.
Sexes are similar, but young birds are duller and browner with a yellowish chin.
The Slaty Spinetail is an insectivore
Insectivore
An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures. An alternate term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of eating insects....
which is difficult to see as it forages for beetles, caterpillars and other prey deep in tangled thickets, but may be located by its hard chu-chu-chrrrr call.