Cranioleuca

The typical spinetails, Cranioleuca, are a genus of Neotropical birds in the ovenbird family Furnariidae.

Cranioleuca
Streak-capped spinetail (Cranioleuca albiceps)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Furnariidae
Genus:	Cranioleuca Reichenbach, 1853
Type species
Synallaxis albiceps d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837

This is a homogeneous group of small birds that live in forested habitats. The spinetails in this genus differ from those placed in Synallaxis in having shorter tails and being more arboreal. They are less vocal and more frequently join mixed flocks.^[1]

Taxonomy and species list

The genus Cranioleuca was introduced in 1853 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach with the light-crowned spinetail as the type species.^[2][3] The name combines the Ancient Greek kranion meaning "skull" with leukos meaning "white".^[4]

The genus contains 20 species:^[5]

Image	Scientific name	Common name	Distribution
	Cranioleuca berlepschi	Russet-mantled softtail	northern Peru
	Cranioleuca weskei	Vilcabamba spinetail	southern Peru
	Cranioleuca marcapatae	Marcapata spinetail	southern Peru
-	Cranioleuca albiceps	Light-crowned spinetail	southeastern Peru and Bolivia
	Cranioleuca vulpina	Rusty-backed spinetail	Colombia, Venezuela, riverine Amazonia and Brazil
-	Cranioleuca dissita	Coiba spinetail	Coiba Island
-	Cranioleuca vulpecula	Parker's spinetail	riverine Amazonia
	Cranioleuca subcristata	Crested spinetail	northern Colombia and Venezuela
	Cranioleuca pyrrhophia	Stripe-crowned spinetail	southern Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay
-	Cranioleuca henricae	Bolivian spinetail	western Bolivia
	Cranioleuca obsoleta	Olive spinetail	South Region, eastern Paraguay and selva misionera
	Cranioleuca pallida	Pallid spinetail	eastern Brazil
	Cranioleuca semicinerea	Grey-headed spinetail	northeastern Brazil
	Cranioleuca albicapilla	Creamy-crested spinetail	southern Peru
	Cranioleuca erythrops	Red-faced spinetail	Talamancan montane forests and Andes of Colombia and Ecuador
	Cranioleuca demissa	Tepui spinetail	tepuis
	Cranioleuca hellmayri	Streak-capped spinetail	sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
-	Cranioleuca curtata	Ash-browed spinetail	northern Andes
	Cranioleuca antisiensis	Line-cheeked spinetail	southern Ecuador and Peru
	Cranioleuca muelleri	Scaled spinetail	lower Amazon river