The Story
I photographed this Yellow-chinned Spinetail (Certhiaxis cinnamomeus) at the Hacienda El Triunfo Private Nature Reserve, near Honda, Tolima, Colombia, in October 2019. It is a slender, long-tailed ovenbird with chestnut-brown upperparts and a pale yellow chin. In northern Colombia it ranges up the Magdalena River valley. Its call is a shrill rattle. It belongs to the ovenbird family, Furnariidae. IUCN lists it as Least Concern. Hacienda El Triunfo now combines sustainable cattle ranching with research, conservation and ecotourism to protect its dry forest.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/1600 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800. Honda is known for the subienda, the yearly run of fish up the Magdalena early in the year, and fishing supports hundreds of families in the town.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Yellow-chinned Spinetail (Certhiaxis cinnamomeus) belongs to the family Furnariidae (Ovenbirds and Woodcreepers) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2025). Source: IUCN Red List