Sooty-fronted Spinetail

Overview

The sooty-fronted spinetail (Synallaxis frontalis) is a species of bird in the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is classified as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN and is considered common to fairly common across its extensive range.

Identification

• Length of 14 to 16 cm with a weight of 11 to 17 g, featuring brownish gray plumage with a thin brownish line through the eye and a dark gray-brown forecrown.
• A graduated, dark rufous tail with slightly pointed tips, where the inner webs of the innermost feathers are darker.
• Legs and feet are olive-gray to greenish gray, and the bill is dark with a blackish to dark gray maxilla and a gray mandible.
• Song described as a very high 2-noted 'du-Twee' or a slow, deliberate 'teoopooee', often given for long periods.

Habitat

Found from northeastern Brazil southwest through eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and into Argentina. It inhabits a variety of semi-open landscapes such as gallery forest, the edges of scrubby or deciduous forest, thorn-scrub, woodlands, and bushy savanna.

Diet

Diet details are not fully known but includes beetles. It usually forages in pairs, gleaning prey from foliage, small branches, and sometimes the ground, typically staying below 2 m of the ground.

Did you know?

The nest is constructed as a globe of thorny twigs with a side entrance tube and an inner chamber lined with dead leaves, moss, feathers, and other soft materials.