Cryptotis avia G. M. Allen 1823, from the Eastern Andean Cordillera of Colombia, is a small-eared shrew previously known from, at most, five specimens. Review of the holotype, consisting of an understuffed skin and a partial skull, and three potential topotypes indicates that they are refereable to Cryptotis thomasi Merriam, 1897, and C. avia should be considered ajunior synonym of that name. Cryptotis thomasi is restricted to highlands around Bogotá in the Eastern Cordillera. Another specimen previously referred to C. avia is the second known specimen of Cryptotis colombiana Woodman & Timm 1993. This second record expands the known distribution of C. colombiana to include both the Central and Eastern Cordilleras of Colombia, and emphasizes a previous hypothesis that C. colombiana also will be found in the Western Cordillera, geographically closer to its sister species (Cryptotis mera, Cryptotis nigrescens) in southern South America.