Coiba Spinetail

Coiba Spinetail
Conservation status
NR
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Furnariidae
Genus:	Cranioleuca
Species:	C. dissita
Binomial name
Cranioleuca dissita (Wetmore, 1957)

The Coiba Spinetail, Cranioleuca dissita, is a Furnariid endemic to Coiba Island, Panama. This primarily arboreal species is fairly common within its range. Despite this, it may be considered vulnerable due to its small range. It is not rated by IUCN, where it is included as a subspecies of the Rusty-backed Spinetail.

Coiba Spinetails are a ruddy brown with olive-brown underparts, a long rufous tail, rufous wings and crown, and a gray-streaked brown head. They forage either singularly or in pairs in dense tangles of vines. Sometimes it flocks with other species of bird. It rarely comes out into the open.

While typically considered a subspecies of the South American Rusty-backed Spinetail, some authorities have argued for species status for the Coiba Spinetail based on differences in habitat, voice, and plumage, and the large distance between the range of it and the Rusty-backed Spinetail.

References

• http://web.archive.org/web/20091027083719/http://geocities.com/xenornis/endemic.html
• A Guide to the Birds of Panama Second Edition by Ridgely and Gwynne ISBN 0-691-02512-6