Olive Spinetail vs Streak-capped Spinetail

Olive Spinetail

Cranioleuca obsoleta

Tiny13 gForest

The olive spinetail is 12.5 to 15 cm (4.9 to 5.9 in) long and weighs 12 to 16 g (0.42 to 0.56 oz). It is a smallish, short-billed, member of genus Cranioleuca. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a whitish supercilium, a dull brown band behind the eye, buff and brown streaky ear coverts, and a plain buff malar area. Their forehead is streaked brown and buff, their crown is dull brownish olive, and their back and rump are a slightly richer brown. Their tail is chestnut-rufous; the feathers are graduated and lack barbs at the end giving a spiky appearance. Voice: The olive spinetail's song is a "short series, at first extr. high and hesitant 'tzit-tzit-tzit', and then a short trill ending in a very high '-sfeet-sfeet-sfeet' ". Its calls are "tst" and a "short, hard trill"; the second is also described as a "soft, dry, hurried trill".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Marcelo Schmidt Roberti · CC BY 4.0

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

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