The Story
I photographed this Yellow-chinned Spinetail (Certhiaxis cinnamomeus) at the Charca de Guarinocito, near La Dorada, Caldas, Colombia, in February 2020. It ranges from Trinidad and Colombia south to Argentina and Uruguay, as a common resident of marshes and open woodland near rivers. It keeps low and often in the open while hunting insects and spiders. Unlike its ovenbird relatives, it builds a large, round stick nest with an entrance tunnel that rises almost straight up from the base. Its call is a shrill rattle. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400, −1 EV. The lagoon is protected as the Charca de Guarinocito Integrated Management District.
©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