The blackish-headed spinetail (Synallaxis tithys) is a Vulnerable species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru.
Taxonomy and systematics
The blackish-headed spinetail is monotypic.
Description
The blackish-headed spinetail is 14.5 to 17 cm (5.7 to 6.7 in) long and weighs 14 to 18 g (0.49 to 0.63 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a mostly black face with some whitish grizzling on the cheeks. Their forecrown is black, their hindcrown and upper back dark gray, and their rump and uppertail coverts dark brownish. Their wing coverts are tawny-rufous and their flight feathers dark fuscous with rufescent brown edges. Their chin is blackish and their throat black. Their underparts are mostly gray with a paler belly and an olive tinge to the flanks and undertail coverts. Their iris is reddish brown to gray-brown, their maxilla black to dark gray, their mandible blue-gray to gray, and their legs and feet gray or pale gray to bluish horn. Juveniles are more olivaceous than adults, with an ill-defined black forehead and gray mottling on their underparts.
Distribution and habitat
The blackish-headed spinetail is found from Manabí and Loja provinces in southwestern Ecuador south into the departments of Tumbes and Piura in far northwestern Peru. It inhabits the undergrowth of tropical deciduous forest, secondary forest, and adjacent scrublands. In elevation it ranges from near sea level to almost 1,300 m (4,300 ft).
