Chotoy Spinetail

The Chotoy Spinetail (Schoeniophylax phryganophilus) is a medium-sized passerine bird in the family Furnariidae (ovenbirds), found in open and semi-open habitats across the lowlands of central South America, including Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay. Spinetails are a diverse group of furnariids characterised by long, graduated tails with spiny shaft projections on the outermost tail feathers, and the Chotoy Spinetail is one of the larger and more distinctive species in this group. It is the sole member of the genus Schoeniophylax and is easily recognised by its boldly patterned face with black and white stripes, rufous and streaked upperparts, and warm buff underparts. The Chotoy Spinetail inhabits tall grasslands, marshes, reed beds, and vegetation along watercourses and wetland margins, where it forages for insects and seeds among tall stems and reeds. It constructs the elaborate domed or flask-shaped stick nests typical of many furnariids, often placed conspicuously in vegetation. Its distinctive, chattering call is characteristic of the South American marshy grassland landscape. The IUCN classifies this species as Least Concern, with populations broadly distributed across the Pantanal, Chaco, and Pampas grassland and wetland landscapes of central South America.