Red-faced spinetail

The red-faced spinetail (Cranioleuca erythrops) is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.

Red-faced spinetail
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Furnariidae
Genus: Cranioleuca
Species:
C. erythrops
Binomial name
Cranioleuca erythrops
(Sclater, PL, 1860)

The red-faced spinetail measures 15 cm (5.9 in) long. The bird is named for its distinctive rufous cheeks and crown. The wings are also rufous. The back and nape are dark olive-brown, while the rest of the underparts are light olive-brown.[2][3]

This species often associates with mixed-species flocks.

The red-faced spinetail places bits of grass and other material loosely streaming both above and below the nest chamber to break the shape of the nest and to cause it to resemble random debris without any underlying structure. This is considered as a case of protection of its nest from predators by camouflage or "masquerade".[4]

A nest masquerading as debris.

References
  1. BirdLife International (2020). "Cranioleuca erythrops". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T22702408A138175892. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22702408A138175892.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. Garrigues, Richard; Dean, Robert (2007). The Birds of Costa Rica. Ithaca: Zona Tropical/Comstock/Cornell University Press. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-8014-7373-9.
  3. Angehr, George R.; Dean, Robert (2010). The Birds of Panama. Ithaca: Zona Tropical/Comstock/Cornell University Press. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-8014-7674-7.
  4. Hansell, Michael Henry (2000). Bird Nests and Construction Behaviour. Cambridge University Press. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-521-46038-5. Retrieved 10 August 2011.

Further reading
  • Skutch, Alexander F. (1969). "Red-faced spinetail" (PDF). Life Histories of Central American Birds III: Families Cotingidae, Pipridae, Formicariidae, Furnariidae, Dendrocolaptidae, and Picidae. Pacific Coast Avifauna, Number 35. Berkeley, California: Cooper Ornithological Society. pp. 331–334.
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