Spinetail meaning : Any of several species of swifts of Acanthylis, Chaetura, and allied genera, in which the shafts of the tail feathers terminate in rigid spines. Any of several species of South American and Central American clamatorial birds belonging to Synallaxis and allied genera of the family Dendrocolaptidae, allied to the ovenbirds. The ruddy duck, Oxyura jamaicensis.