Pale-breasted Spinetail - Synallaxis albescens

Pale-breasted Spinetail Synallaxis albescens

Brazilian name: Uí-pi

Brazil

The Pale-breasted Spinetail is greyish brown above with rufous wing coverts and a rufous crown with grey forehead. It has a dull brown tail and black specks on the throat. Sick mentions that, when singing, it inflates its throat revealing the black base of the throat feathers. This effect can be seen in the first photo.

Its range stretches from northern Colombia to central Argentina east of the Andes but it is absent from most of the western Amazon Basin and south east Brazil.

It is found in more open areas with shrubs and scattered bushes. We found the bird in photo 1 in riverside bushes beside the rio Uraricoera, a tributary of the rio Branco in Roraima.

It belongs to the sub-species S. a. josephinae which is darker overall with a darker grey face and darker underparts than the nominate sub-species from eastern and southern Brazil seen in photos 2 and 3. Note the dull brown tail as in photo 3 which contrasts with the more rufous tail found in most other Synallaxis spinetails.

There are recordings on xeno-canto, a distribution map from NatureServe and additional information available via Avibase.

Back to Index

If you do not see a menu on the left, you may have arrived at this page from another site. Please click Home to get to my main page.