Bird Guide

Azara's Spinetail vs Sooty-fronted Spinetail

Azara's Spinetail (Synallaxis azarae)

Azara's Spinetail

Synallaxis azarae

Small17 gForest

Azara's spinetail is 15 to 18 cm (5.9 to 7.1 in) long and weighs 12 to 18 g (0.42 to 0.63 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies S. a. azarae have a brownish gray face with a slightly paler supercilium. Their forehead and forecrown are dark grayish brown, their hindcrown and nape dark rufous, and their back, rump and uppertail coverts rich olive-brown. Their wings are mostly rufous-chestnut with dark brownish tips on their flight feathers. Their tail is dull chestnut-brown; the tail is graduated and the feathers have somewhat pointed tips. Voice: Azara's spinetail is quite vocal, repeating for minutes at a time a sharp "ket-kwééék", "pip-squeak", or "ka-kweeék". It also makes "scratchy, nasal 'prrt' notes", " 'kweek-kweek' notes", and a "low short 'chur' or 'trrt' ".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Azara's Spinetail
Recorded by JUAN ANTONIO ALONSO DE JUAN · Song · San Antonio del Tequendama, Cundinamarca, Colombia · CC BY 4.0
Photo: Fabrice Schmitt · CC BY 2.0
Sooty-fronted Spinetail (Synallaxis frontalis)

Sooty-fronted Spinetail

Synallaxis frontalis

Tiny14 gWoodland

The sooty-fronted spinetail is 14 to 16 cm (5.5 to 6.3 in) long and weighs 11 to 17 g (0.39 to 0.60 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a thin brownish line through the eye on an otherwise brownish gray face. Their forecrown ("front") is dark gray-brown, their hindcrown and nape dark rufous, and their back, rump and uppertail coverts brown with a rufescent tinge. Their wing coverts are dark rufous and their flight feathers tawny-rufous with dusky tips. Voice: What appears to be the sooty-fronted spinetail's song is variously described as " 'ka-kwee-éék', 'ka-kweek', 'pi-whéé', or 'ja-coo-éé' ", a "very high 2-noted 'du-Twee' ", and "a slow, deliberate teeoopooee". This vocalization is often given for long periods. It also makes a " 'sew-kli' or 'chi-cli', and ated nasal 'hoint'or 'hoít' ".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Azara's Spinetail and Sooty-fronted Spinetail.