Olive Spinetail

Olive Spinetail

Cranioleuca obsoleta

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Iberá National Park

In 3 days <5%

6 Verified sightings at Iberá National Park From 2019 to 2026
26 In all 3 parks
December Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Olive Spinetail

The olive spinetail (Cranioleuca obsoleta) is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. The olive spinetail is monotypic. It is closely related to the sister species stripe-crowned spinetail (C. pyrrhophia) and pallid spinetail (C. pallida). The olive and stripe-crowned spinetails hybridize in southern Brazil.

The olive spinetail is 12.5 to 15 cm (4.9 to 5.9 in) long and weighs 12 to 16 g (0.42 to 0.56 oz). It is a smallish, short-billed, member of genus Cranioleuca. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a whitish supercilium, a dull brown band behind the eye, buff and brown streaky ear coverts, and a plain buff malar area. Their forehead is streaked brown and buff, their crown is dull brownish olive, and their back and rump are a slightly richer brown. Their tail is chestnut-rufous; the feathers are graduated and lack barbs at the end giving a spiky appearance. Their wing coverts are dark chestnut-rufous, their primary coverts dark brown, and their flight feathers warm brown. Their throat is whitish, their breast buffy brownish, their belly... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call1:22

Brazil · 2025

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC1053031 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:13

Brazil · 2014

© Marcelo Villegas · XC288521 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:30

Brazil · 2021

© GABRIEL LEITE · XC614801 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Iberá National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
<5%
2 Iguaçu National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
3 Iguazú National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Curitiba 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
2 Porto Alegre 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an Olive Spinetail in Iberá National Park?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Olive Spinetail sighting in Iberá National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 275th most-seen of the 284 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an Olive Spinetail in Iberá National Park?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Olive Spinetail in Iberá National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see an Olive Spinetail?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Olive Spinetail sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Iberá National Park the best place to see an Olive Spinetail?

Yes

Of the 3 parks where we can rate Olive Spinetail sightings, Iberá National Park has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Iguaçu National Park (Brazil, under 5%) and Iguazú National Park (Argentina, under 5%).

Where does the Olive Spinetail sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Olive Spinetail is recorded against all the birds logged in Iberá National Park (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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