Asthenes maculicauda
The Scribble-tailed Canastero (*Asthenes maculicauda*) is a small, inconspicuous passerine, typically measuring 15-16 cm in length, with a drab brown plumage that provides excellent camouflage in its high-altitude habitat. Its upperparts are a uniform brown, often with a faintly streaked crown, complemented by a pale supercilium and dark ear coverts. The underparts are whitish, sometimes displaying faint streaking, but the most distinctive field mark, giving the species its common name, is it...
Found exclusively in high-altitude Andean puna, dry scrubland, and rocky slopes, typically between 3,000 and 4,500 meters, often near the treeline or in open *Polylepis* woodlands.
Primarily insectivorous, feeding on a variety of insects and small arthropods gleaned from vegetation, leaf litter, and the ground.
This active canastero is primarily diurnal, foraging energetically during daylight hours, though its roosting habits are not extensively documented, likely involving dense vegetation or rock crevices. It employs a gleaning foraging strategy, diligently picking insects and other small arthropods f...
The Scribble-tailed Canastero is a resident species of the high Andes, distributed across southern Peru, Bolivia, northern Chile, and northwestern Argentina. In Peru, it is found in departments such as Puno and Cusco, extending south through the Bolivian departments of La Paz, Cochabamba, PotosÃ,...
Least Concern
- The common name 'Canastero' comes from the Spanish word for 'basket-maker,' referring to the elaborate, oven-like nests of some related *Asthenes* species, though the Scribble-tailed Canastero prefers more modest burrows or crevices. - Its distinctive 'scribbled' tail pattern, which gives it it...