Olive Spinetail
Cranioleuca obsoleta
Restless long-tailed species with an olive-brown back, whitish chin, and buffy underparts. Note the whitish eyebrow, rusty wing patch, and rusty tail. Mostly found in the canopy of humid forests and second growth, including Araucaria forests, where it often accompany mixed-species flocks. The song is a repetitive and fast high-pitched series of “psee” notes, which gradually descends in a trill.
Identification
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. Their wing coverts are dark chestnut-rufous, their primary coverts dark brown, and their flight feathers warm brown. Their throat is whitish, their breast buffy brownish, their belly pale olive-buff, and their flanks and undertail coverts somewhat darker. Their iris is variable, their maxilla black to dark brownish, their mandible pinkish, bluish gray, or whitish with a dark tip, and their legs and feet grayish olive to olive-green. Juveniles have darker upperparts than adults, with variable scaling on the breast.
Taxonomy
The olive spinetail is monotypic. It is closely related to the sister species stripe-crowned spinetail (C. pyrrhophia) and pallid spinetail (C. pallida). The olive and stripe-crowned spinetails hybridize in southern Brazil.
- Scientific name
- Cranioleuca obsoleta
- Authority
- (Reichenbach, 1853)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Furnariidae
- Genus
- Cranioleuca
Range and habitat
The olive spinetail is found from southern São Paulo state in southeastern Brazil south through eastern Paraguay into northeastern Argentina as far as northern Corrientes Province. It inhabits humid forest, both prinary and secondary, and woodlands dominated by Araucaria. In elevation it ranges from near sea level to 1,000 m (3,300 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The olive spinetail is a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>The olive spinetail feeds on arthropods. It typically forages in pairs and often joins mixed-species feeding flocks. It acrobatically gleans prey from bark, moss, and epiphytes. It hitches and climbs along trunks and small branches, mostly in the forest's mid-storey but occasionally to its canopy.<p>The olive spinetail's breeding season is probably the austral spring and summer; eggs have been noted in October. It is thought to be monogamous. Its nest is thought to be a ball of moss with a side entrance. Nothing else is known about its breeding biology.<p>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".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Large Woodshrike
Tephrodornis virgatus
Nondescript large-billed bird with a bandit’s mask. Very similar to Common Woodshrike, but note heavier bill and lack of white eyebrow. A species of lowland and hill forests. Forages slowly and quietly, often in upper levels of forest and frequently with mixed-species flocks. Song is a rapid monotone series of whistles, the first one or two notes sometimes lower. Also frequently gives a harsh rattling call.
Taita Apalis
Apalis fuscigularis
A slim, dark, long-tailed member of the cisticola family. Mostly gray-brown with a black throat and a pale gray belly. Also note the white eye and the white outer tail feathers. Inhabits a tiny range in remnant scraps of montane forest on the Taita Hills of Kenya, mostly along forest edge and in the undergrowth. Somewhat similar to Black-headed Apalis, but easily separated by the dark rather than white throat. The typical song is a duet in which the male gives repeated low “chrup” notes while the female gives rapid-fire higher notes.
Oriental Bay-Owl
Phodilus badius
Small owl with a distinctive, highly angular head. Dark chestnut above and pale creamy gray below with light spotting on the sides. Dark eyes are emphasized by the general paleness of the face and the vertical dark ridges above them which form into small rounded tufts. Typically stands quite upright, giving it a heavy-headed appearance. Small and often difficult to find but can be common in a wide range of habitats, including evergreen forests and mangroves. Vocalizations are variable, and include rasps, screams, inflected gulping hoots, and a high-pitched mellow whistled song with the first few notes downslurred and the last few notes upslurred, which can be likened to “hii-huu-huu-huwee-huwee-huwee”.
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