Chotoy Spinetail

About the Chotoy Spinetail

The chotoy spinetail (Schoeniophylax phryganophilus) is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The chotoy spinetail was originally described in genus Sylvia. Later authors placed it in Synallaxis but by the early 2010s it was recognized in its own genus Schoeniophylax. It and the white-bellied spinetail (Mazaria propinqua) are sister species.

The chotoy spinetail has two subspecies, the nominate S. p. phryganophilus (Vieillot, 1817) and S. p. petersi (Pinto, 1949). The chotoy spinetail is 20 to 22 cm (7.9 to 8.7 in) long and weighs 15 to 22.5 g (0.53 to 0.79 oz). It is a large spinetail with a unique throat pattern. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a white supercilium and light brown ear coverts. Their forehead is dark brown, their crown chestnut with faint brown streaks, their back sandy brown with obvious dark brown streaks, and their lower back, rump, and uppertail coverts light brown. Their wings are mostly light brown with a chestnut shoulder. Their tail is long and light brown with... Wikipedia →