Cranioleuca Explained

The typical spinetails, Cranioleuca, are a genus of Neotropical birds in the ovenbird family Furnariidae.

This is a homogeneous group of small birds that live in forested habitats. The spinetails in this genus differ from those placed in Synallaxis in having shorter tails and being more arboreal. They are less vocal and more frequently join mixed flocks.^[1]

Taxonomy and species list

The genus Cranioleuca was introduced in 1853 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach with the light-crowned spinetail as the type species.^{[2] [3]} The name combines the Ancient Greek kranion meaning "skull" with leukos meaning "white".^[4]

The genus contains 20 species:^[5]

• Russet-mantled softtail, Cranioleuca berlepschi (Hellmayr, 1905)
• Vilcabamba spinetail, Cranioleuca weskei Remsen, 1984
• Marcapata spinetail, Cranioleuca marcapatae Zimmer, JT, 1935
• Light-crowned spinetail, Cranioleuca albiceps (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837)
• Rusty-backed spinetail, Cranioleuca vulpina (Pelzeln, 1856)
• Coiba spinetail, Cranioleuca dissita Wetmore, 1957
• Parker's spinetail or white-breasted spinetail, Cranioleuca vulpecula (Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1866)
• Crested spinetail, Cranioleuca subcristata (Sclater, PL, 1874)
• Stripe-crowned spinetail, Cranioleuca pyrrhophia (Vieillot, 1818)
• Bolivian spinetail, Cranioleuca henricae Maijer & Fjeldså, 1997
• Olive spinetail, Cranioleuca obsoleta (Reichenbach, 1853)
• Pallid spinetail, Cranioleuca pallida (Wied-Neuwied, M, 1831)
• Grey-headed spinetail, Cranioleuca semicinerea (Reichenbach, 1853)
• Creamy-crested spinetail, Cranioleuca albicapilla (Cabanis, 1873)
• Red-faced spinetail, Cranioleuca erythrops (Sclater, PL, 1860)
• Tepui spinetail, Cranioleuca demissa (Salvin & Godman, 1884)
• Streak-capped spinetail, Cranioleuca hellmayri (Bangs, 1907)
• Ash-browed spinetail, Cranioleuca curtata (Sclater, PL, 1870)
• Line-cheeked spinetail, Cranioleuca antisiensis (Sclater, PL, 1859)
• Scaled spinetail, Cranioleuca muelleri (Hellmayr, 1911)

Notes and References

1. Book: Ridgely . Robert S. . Tudor . Guy . 2009 . Birds of South America: Passerines . Helm Field Guides . London . Christopher Helm . 978-1-408-11342-4 . 281 .
2. Book: Reichenbach, Ludwig . Ludwig Reichenbach . 1853 . Handbuch der speciellen Ornithologie. Icones ad synopsin avium no.10 . 6 . Friedrich Hofmeister . German . Leipzig . 167 .
3. Book: Peters . James Lee . James L. Peters . 1951 . Check-List of Birds of the World . 7 . Museum of Comparative Zoology . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 97 .
4. Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm . London . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 120 .
5. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela Rasmussen . July 2020 . Ovenbirds, woodcreepers . IOC World Bird List Version 10.2 . International Ornithologists' Union . 30 December 2020 .