Thorn-tailed rayadito

Aphrastura spinicauda

Photo by Diego Arellano (Flickr)

Common name:

thorn-tailed rayadito (en); raiadinho (pt); synallaxe rayadito (fr); rayadito (es); festland-stachelschwanzschlüpfer (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Furnariidae

Range:

The thorn-tailed rayadito is distributed in central and southern Chile and the adjacent extreme western edge of Argentina.

Size:

These birds are 13-15 cm long and weighs 10-12 g.

Habitat:

They are mostly found in temperate forests with trees such as Araucaria and Nothofagus beech.

Diet:

Thorn-tailed rayaditos often forage in mixed species flocks, gleaning insects and other invertebrates from leaves and tree bark.

Breeding:

These birds breed in October-January. They nest in in holes or behind the bark of the trees in deciduous forests, and the inside of the nest is lines with small twigs, grasses, ferns and feathers. There the female lays 3-6 eggs which are incubated for 11-15 days by both parents. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 20-23 days after hatching. Some pairs may produce 2 clutches per season.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

The thorn-tailed rayadito has a large breeding range and, although the global population size has not been quantified, this species is described as common. This population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.