Canastero
Genus of birds
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Canasteros and thistletails are small passerine birds of South America belonging to the genus Asthenes. The name "canastero" comes from Spanish and means "basket-maker", referring to the large, domed nests these species make of sticks or grass. They inhabit shrublands and grasslands in temperate climates from the lowlands to the highlands. They feed on insects and other invertebrates gleaned from the ground or the low vegetation.
| Canasteros | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cordilleran canastero (Asthenes modesta) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Furnariidae |
| Genus: | Asthenes Reichenbach, 1853 |
| Type species | |
| Synallaxis sordida Sharp-billed canastero Lesson, 1839 | |
| Species | |
|
see text | |
| Synonyms[1][2] | |
| |
Taxonomy
The genus Asthenes was introduced in 1853 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach.[3] The name is from Ancient Greek asthenēs meaning "insignificant".[4] The type species was designated by George Robert Gray in 1855 as Synallaxis sordida Lesson.[5][6] This taxon is now considered to be a subspecies of the sharp-billed canastero (Asthenes pyrrholeuca sordida).[7]
In 2010, it was discovered that the thistletails and the Itatiaia spinetail, formerly placed in their own genera (Schizoeaca and Oreophylax, respectively), are actually part of a rapid radiation of long-tailed Asthenes.[2] At the same time, four species, the cactus, dusky-tailed, Steinbach's and Patagonian canasteros, were split off into the new genus Pseudasthenes.[2]
Species
The genus contains 29 species:[7]
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Pale-tailed canastero | Asthenes huancavelicae | Peru |
.jpg) | Dark-winged canastero | Asthenes arequipae | Puna grassland |
 | Rusty-vented canastero | Asthenes dorbignyi | southern Peru |
| - | Berlepsch's canastero | Asthenes berlepschi | western Bolivia |
 | Short-billed canastero | Asthenes baeri | Argentina, western Paraguay and Uruguay |
.jpg) | Cipo canastero | Asthenes luizae | Serra do Cipó |
 | Hudson's canastero | Asthenes hudsoni | Argentina and Uruguay |
_from_behind.jpg) | Austral canastero | Asthenes anthoides | western Patagonia and Los Lagos Region |
.jpg) | Line-fronted canastero | Asthenes urubambensis | Peru and Bolivia |
.jpg) | Many-striped canastero | Asthenes flammulata | northern Andes |
 | Junin canastero | Asthenes virgata | central Peru |
.jpg) | Scribble-tailed canastero | Asthenes maculicauda | central Andes |
.jpg) | Streak-backed canastero | Asthenes wyatti | Ecuador, Puna grassland and Sierras de Córdoba |
 | Streak-throated canastero | Asthenes humilis | Puna grassland |
| Cordilleran canastero | Asthenes modesta | Puna grassland, Patagonia and Sierras de Córdoba |
.jpg) | Itatiaia spinetail | Asthenes moreirae | Itatiaia National Park and nearby massifs |
 | Sharp-billed canastero | Asthenes pyrrholeuca | southern Cone |
| - | Black-throated thistletail | Asthenes harterti | Bolivian Andes |
 | Puna thistletail | Asthenes helleri | southeastern Peru |
| - | Vilcabamba thistletail | Asthenes vilcabambae | central Peru |
| - | Ayacucho thistletail | Asthenes ayacuchensis | central Peru |
.jpg) | Canyon canastero | Asthenes pudibunda | Peru |
 | Rusty-fronted canastero | Asthenes ottonis | Bolivia and northern Argentina |
 | Maquis canastero | Asthenes heterura | Puna grassland |
.jpg) | Eye-ringed thistletail | Asthenes palpebralis | central Peru |
| - | Ochre-browed thistletail | Asthenes coryi | Cordillera de Merida |
 | Perija thistletail | Asthenes perijana | Serranía del Perijá |
 | White-chinned thistletail | Asthenes fuliginosa | northern Andes |
.jpg) | Mouse-colored thistletail | Asthenes griseomurina | southern Ecuador and northern Peru |
Description
They are typically 15–18 centimetres (5.9–7.1 in) long and slim with long tails and thin, pointed bills. They are mostly dull and brown in colour but vary in tail pattern and presence of streaking. They have trilling songs.
Distribution and habitat
Most species occur in open country, including mesic to arid scrublands and grasslands. Some species inhabit dry forests. Only three species are migratory.[8]
