Bird Guide

Creamy-crested Spinetail vs Streak-capped Spinetail

Creamy-crested Spinetail (Cranioleuca albicapilla)

Creamy-crested Spinetail

Cranioleuca albicapilla

Small21 gShrubland

The creamy-crested spinetail is 16 to 17 cm (6.3 to 6.7 in) long and weighs 18 to 24 g (0.63 to 0.85 oz). It is a large member of genus Cranioleuca and has a distinctive head pattern. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a narrow whitish supercilium and gray-brown lores on an otherwise buffy face with some streaking. Their crown and crest are creamy-white. Their back is olivaceous gray that is browner at the rump. Their wing coverts are dark rufous and their flight feathers dull brown. Their tail is rufous; it is graduated and the feathers have pointed tips. Voice: The creamy-crested spinetail's song is "a loud, ascending-descending series of semi-musical notes: tch, tch, tleep-chee-chee-cheechee-ee-ee-ee-ee-trrrr" and is often given in duet. Its calls include "a rising tlee'lee", "a loud, semi-whistled dew", and a "rapid series of tleep notes".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: capacoscar · CC BY 4.0
Streak-capped Spinetail (Cranioleuca hellmayri)

Streak-capped Spinetail

Cranioleuca hellmayri

Tiny15 gForest

The streak-capped spinetail is 14 to 15 cm (5.5 to 5.9 in) long and weighs 14 to 16 g (0.49 to 0.56 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a narrow whitish supercilium on an otherwise dark brownish and buff face. Their crown is reddish chestnut with blackish streaks, their back brown that becomes paler by the rump, and tawny rufescent uppertail coverts. Their wings are mostly reddish chestnut; their flight feathers have slightly duller edges and dark fuscous tips. Their tail is reddish chestnut; it is graduated and the feathers have pointed tips. Voice: The streak-capped spinetail's vocalizations have not been fully determined. What is either its song or call is described as "a weak, high-pitched, squeaky trill, 'ti, ti, t, t-t-t-t' " and a "shrill, squeaky trill, accelerating".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ben Costamagna · CC BY 4.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Creamy-crested Spinetail and Streak-capped Spinetail.