Ovenbirds (Furnariidae)

Crested Spinetail (Cranioleuca subcristata) - HBW 8, p. 292

French: Synallaxe huppé German: Strichelscheitel-Baumschlüpfer Spanish: Curutié Copetón

Taxonomy: Synallaxis subcristata P. L. Sclater, 1874, near Caracas, Venezuela.
Considered by some authors to be closely related to, or even to form a superspecies with, C. pyrrhophia because of shared plumage feature; others expand this superspecies to include also C. henricae, C. obsoleta, C. pallida, C. albicapilla, C. antisiensis and C. baroni, but genetic data indicate that at least the last two of those are not part of this lineage. Race fuscivertex described from only 2 specimens, poorly known; further research desirable. Two subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

subcristata (P. L. Sclater, 1874) - N Venezuela (Maracaibo Basin, Sierra de San Luis in Falcón, E slope from Lara S to Barinas, mountains from Yaracuy E to Miranda, Cerro Platillón on Aragua-Guárico border, and mountains of NE Anzoátegui, Sucre and N Monagas) and NE Colombia (E slope of E Andes in Norte de Santander S to S Boyacá, and adjacent lowlands of R Arauca and R Casanare).
fuscivertex Phelps, Sr. & Phelps, Jr., 1955 - E slope of Andes in W Venezuela (S Táchira, W Apure).