An ovenbird (furnariid) of 19 to 22 cm with a brown-olive back, a rufous crown and a yellow throat with a black patch edged in white. The breast and belly are ochre-whitish. The tail is long, graduated and brown. The bill is medium-sized and slightly curved. It lives along the wet edges of marshes, in reedbeds with emergent shrubby vegetation and in the reed stands near the water. It is larger and less strictly aquatic than the wren-like rushbird (junquero) and the curutié spinetail.
Behaviour
Active and not very elusive. It moves among the shrubby vegetation and the reeds at mid-height, looking for insects. Its song is very characteristic and gives the bird its name: a rhythmic, energetic repetition of "cho-toy cho-toy cho-toy" that resounds at the edges of the wetland. It builds spherical nests of plant fibers in the vegetation.
How and when to see it
Year round. Its distinctive song gives it away easily. The edges of the wetlands with reed beds and shrubs at all the portals.
Where to see it in the Iberá
The gateways of the Great Iberá Park where chotoy spinetail has confirmed presence:
Tours to see it
Verified providers operating at the gateways where chotoy spinetail lives. You contact them directly on WhatsApp from the app.
- Esteros Ñe’é
Experiences with local storytelling and a cultural take on the marshes.★ 5.0 - Gaucho Argentino
Horseback journeys across a network of refuges in Iberá. Multi-day rides with overnight…★ 5.0 - Irupé Excursiones
Guided hiking. Guided visit to museums, historic sites, chapels and trails of the town…★ 5.0 - Reserva Estero Camba Trapo
Private nature reserve of Ecoposada del Estero, on the Camba Trapo road. One of the…★ 5.0
Species profile
- Common nameChotoy Spinetail
- Scientific nameSchoeniophylax phryganophilus
- GroupBird
- StatusNative
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