Bird Guide

Dark-breasted Spinetail vs Grey-bellied Spinetail

Dark-breasted Spinetail (Synallaxis albigularis)

Dark-breasted Spinetail

Synallaxis albigularis

Small15 gShrubland

The dark-breasted spinetail is 15 to 16 cm (5.9 to 6.3 in) long and weighs 14 to 18 g (0.49 to 0.63 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a brownish gray face and forecrown. Their hindcrown and nape are dark rufous, and their back, rump and uppertail coverts olive-brown. Their wing coverts are dark rufous with paler edges and their flight feathers dark brownish. Their tail is dull brown; it is graduated and the feathers have pointed tips. Their throat is grayish white with sooty flecks; the lower throat feathers are blackish with pale gray edges. Voice: The dark-breasted spinetail's song is "a hurried 'chéép, du-du-du' or 'whít, di-di-di' " that is often repeated at length. Other vocalizations include a "short chatter" and an "accelerating whinny, 'neeh-neeh-neeh-neeh-neh-neh-neh' ".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Dark-breasted Spinetail
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · Morona-Santiago: e-slope Cord. de Cutucú: Uuntsuants, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Monics Paredes · CC BY 4.0
Grey-bellied Spinetail (Synallaxis cinerascens)

Grey-bellied Spinetail

Synallaxis cinerascens

Tiny13 gForest

The grey-bellied spinetail is 13.5 to 15 cm (5.3 to 5.9 in) long and weighs 10 to 14 g (0.35 to 0.49 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have blackish lores and a faint gray line behind the eye on an otherwise gray-brown face. Their forehead is dark grayish brown, their crown dark brownish olive, and their back, rump, and uppertail coverts are richer brown. Their wings are mostly rich reddish chestnut. Their tail is dark chestnut; the tips of the feathers have no barbs giving a spiny appearance. Voice: The grey-bellied spinetail's song is a "very high, piercing 'weeet-sweet' " whose first note is higher than the second.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Arthur Bruck · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Dark-breasted Spinetail and Grey-bellied Spinetail.