[2] Olrog cinclodes' English name and specific epithet honor the Swedish-Argentine biologist Claes C.

[5] (In a three-way split of the bar-winged that began in about 2009, C. fuscus was renamed to the present buff-winged cinclodes to avoid confusion with the previous much more complex species.

)[6][7] The species' namesake Olrog and several other authors maintained that it was more closely related to the gray-flanked cinclodes (C. oustaleti), and this has been confirmed by genetic data.

[10] Olrog's cinclodes is mostly a year-round resident throughout its range, though some individuals move to lower elevations after the breeding season.

It nests in a burrow at the end of a tunnel it excavates in an earth bank, in a crevice among rocks, or in a human structure's wall.

It has a restricted range and an unknown population size that is believed to be decreasing, but none of these meet the criteria for uplisting to Near Threatened.

[1] It is considered common within that small range, where it is "relatively free from human disturbance; grazing appears to be the only potential problem".