Ovenbirds (Furnariidae)

Wren-like Rushbird (Phleocryptes melanops) - HBW 8, p. 261

French: Synallaxe troglodyte German: Binsenschlüpfer Spanish: Junquero
Other common names: Rushbird, Black-faced Spinetail

Taxonomy: Sylvia melanops Vieillot, 1817, Paraguay.
Affinities uncertain. Possible relationship to Aphrastura suggested by plumage features, but nest architecture considered by some to be more like that of similarly marsh-nesting Limnoctites and Limnornis; blue-green egg colour (unusual within family) more like latter’s. Proposed race juninensis (from vicinity of L Junín, in C Peru), purportedly with brighter plumage, evidently not diagnosable. Four subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

brunnescens J. T. Zimmer, 1935 - coastal W Peru (La Libertad S to Ica).
schoenobaenus Cabanis & Heine, 1859 - C & S Peru (L Junín area in Andes of Junín, Altiplano region of Puno), W Bolivia (La Paz S to Oruro) and NW Argentina (Jujuy).
loaensis R. A. Philippi [Bañados] & Goodall, 1946 - coastal S Peru (Arequipa) and N Chile (Tarapacá).
melanops (Vieillot, 1817) - lowlands of SE Brazil (São Paulo S to Rio Grande do Sul), Argentina (Tucumán E to Misiones, S to Chubut) and Chile (Atacama S to Aisén), but N limits of breeding unclear; also to W Paraguay in non-breeding season.