Crested Spinetail (Cranioleuca subcristata) [XC364804]
by id from Hacienda Gu\u00e1quira, San Felipe, Yaracuy, Venezuela (song)
Crested Spinetail (Cranioleuca subcristata) [XC221742]
by Francisco contreras from Casa Maria, Carabobo, Venezuela (song)
Subspecies
Considered by some authors to be closely related to, or even to form a superspecies with, Stripe-crowned Spinetail (Cranioleuca pyrrhophia) because of shared plumage feature. Others expand this superspecies to include also Bolivian Spinetail (Cranioleuca henricae), Olive Spinetail (Cranioleuca obsoleta), Pallid Spinetail (Cranioleuca pallida), Creamy-crested Spinetail (Cranioleuca albicapilla), Line-cheeked Spinetail (Cranioleuca antisiensis) and Baron's Spinetail (Cranioleuca baroni), but genetic data indicate that at least the last two of those are not part of this lineage. Subspecies fuscivertex described from only 2 specimens, poorly known. Further research is desirable.
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
subcristata (Sclater, 1874) - Northern Venezuela (Maracaibo Basin, Sierra de San Luis in Falcón, eastern slope from Lara south to Barinas, mountains from Yaracuy east to Miranda, Cerro Platillón on Aragua-Guárico border, and mountains of north-eastern Anzoátegui, Sucre and northern Monagas) and north-eastern Colombia (eastern slope of eastern Andes in Norte de Santander south to southern Boyacá, and adjacent lowlands of R Arauca and R Casanare).
fuscivertex Phelps & Phelps Jr, 1955 - Eastern slope of Andes in western Venezuela (southern Táchira, western Apure).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet