McConnell’s Spinetail

McConnell's spinetail (Synallaxis macconnelli) is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. == Taxonomy and systematics == Well into the twentieth century McConnell's spinetail was treated as conspecific with Cabanis's spinetail (S. cabanisi). Since its recognition as a species its further taxonomy is unsettled. The International Ornithological Committee recognizes two subspecies, the nominate S. m. macconnelli (Chubb, 1919) and S. m. obscurior (Todd, 1948). BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World adds a third, S. m. yavii. The Clements taxonomy treats it as monotypic, with no subspecies. Genetic data published in 2011 supported that McConnell's spinetail, the dusky spinetail (S. moesta), and Cabanis's spinetail (S. cabanisi) form a monophyletic group. However, data published in 2013 has evidence that the dusky spinetail might instead be more closely related to the rufous-capped spinetail (S. ruficapilla). The specific epithet of McConnell's spinetail is misspelled with "mac" instead of "mc"; the species was named for a F. V. McConnell. By the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature the error is retained. This article follows the two-subspecies model. == Description == McConnell's spinetail is…