Creamy-crested spinetail

Cranioleuca albicapilla

Photo by Tomas Grim (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:
creamy-crested spinetail (en); arredio-de-barrete-branco (pt); synallaxe à calotte blanche (fr); curutié crestado (es); fahlkappen-baumschlüpfer (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Furnariidae

Range:
This species is endemic to Peru, being found along the eastern slopes of the Andes from Tarma to Cusco.

Size:
These birds are 16-17 cm long and weigh 18-24 g.

Habitat:
The creamy-crested spinetail is mostly found in high altitude woodlands and scrublands, ranging from semi-arid to semi-humid areas, particularly areas dominated by Podocarpus or Eugenia-Escallonia. They also use pastures and arable land. This species occurs at altitudes of 2.400-3.800 m.

Diet:
They forage in pairs, or sometimes join mixed-species foraging flocks, taking various arthropods from the mid-storey of the vegetation.

Breeding:
Creamy-crested spinetails are believed to be monogamous and possibly breed in January-May. The nest is a small globular structure made of moss, twigs and bark strips, usually suspended from the end of a branch. There is no further information on the reproduction of this species.

Conservation:IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a relatively large breeding range and is described as locally fairly common. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.