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The discovery of this handsome furnariid by Michael Harvey at Altos
del Maria in early July of 2005 represented the first record for Panama
between Veraguas and Darién Provinces. I observed this species in the same area
a couple of weeks later, and noted that the Altos bird had a completely red head and neck, as opposed to only the front half
of the head, as illustrated in Ridgely's Birds of Panama. One of my birding companions on the day, Mike Manetz, an American
birder who was familiar with the spinetail from previous trips to Costa Rica, commented that "it looks like no other spinetail I've ever seen!".
Alexander Wetmore, in The Birds of the Republic of Panama, Vol. 3 notes that the subspecies griseigularis of Colombia and the Darién has a generally
redder head and neck than the subspecies rufigenis of Costa Rica and western Panama. It is entirely possible that the birds of Altos del Maria (in western Panamá Province)
come from the eastern population of the species rather than the western, or that a separate subspecies is involved. A conclusion of this sort would be quite significant, as the recent unique
findings from the area around Altos del Maria have been of species associated with western Panama, or at least birds found previously in both the east and west but not the central region. Comments and photographs of
the Altos Red-faced Spinetails would be most welcome, as they might contribute to an interesting taxonomic discussion.
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