The rufous-capped spinetail (Synallaxis ruficapilla) is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae.

[3] What is now the Bahia spinetail (S. cinerea, previously S. whitneyi) was treated as a conspecific population of the rufous-capped[3] and data both support[4] and refute[5] that treatment.

As of late 2023 major taxonomic systems treat the Bahia spinetail as a full species.

Adults have a wide buff supercilium and dark brownish gray lores and ear coverts.

Their crown and nape are bright orange-rufous and their back, rump, and uppertail coverts are rufescent brown.

Juveniles have a duller crown than adults, with little or no chin spot and an ochraceous or brownish wash on the underparts.

Its nest is a bulky mass of thorny sticks with a downward-slanting entrance tube, typically placed in dense vegetation between 1 and 2.5 m (3 and 8 ft) above the ground.

The rufous-capped spinetail's song has variously been described as "a fast nasal 'di-di-di-réét' "[8], "tdrrrWit"[9], and "a quiet, insistent 'drrrrrt wee' "[9].