Canastero

Canasteros
	Cordilleran canastero (Asthenes modesta)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
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
	Schizoeaca Cabanis, 1853; Astheres Bonaparte, 1854; Oreophylax Hellmayr, 1925;

Last updated April 11, 2025

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.

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
	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
	Cipo canastero	Asthenes luizae	Serra do Cipó
	Hudson's canastero	Asthenes hudsoni	Argentina and Uruguay
	Austral canastero	Asthenes anthoides	western Patagonia and Los Lagos Region
	Line-fronted canastero	Asthenes urubambensis	Peru and Bolivia
	Many-striped canastero	Asthenes flammulata	northern Andes
	Junin canastero	Asthenes virgata	central Peru
	Scribble-tailed canastero	Asthenes maculicauda	central Andes
	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
	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
	Canyon canastero	Asthenes pudibunda	Peru
	Rusty-fronted canastero	Asthenes ottonis	Bolivia and northern Argentina
	Maquis canastero	Asthenes heterura	Puna grassland
	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
	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]

References

↑ Asthenes Reichenbach, 1853 . Retrieved through: Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera on 2019-08-14.
1 2 3 Derryberry, Elizabeth; Claramunt, Santiago; O’Quin, Kelly E.; Aleixo, Alexandre; Chesser, R. Terry; Remsen, J.V.; Brumfield, Robb T. (2010). "Pseudasthenes, a new genus of ovenbird (Aves: Passeriformes: Furnariidae)" (PDF). Zootaxa . 2416: 61–68. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2416.1.4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-27. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
↑ Reichenbach, Ludwig (1853). "Icones ad synopsin avium No. 10 Scansoriae A". Handbuch der speciellen Ornithologie (in German). Dresden und Leipzig: Expedition Vollständigsten Naturgeschichte. pp. 145–218 [146, 168].
↑ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
↑ Gray, George Robert (1855). Catalogue of the Genera and Subgenera of Birds Contained in the British Museum. London: British Museum. p. 27.
↑ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1951). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 7. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 103.
1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2021). "Ovenbirds, woodcreepers". IOC World Bird List Version 11.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
↑ Claramunt, Santiago; Aldabe, Joaquín; Etchevers, Ismael; Di Giacomo, Adrián S.; Kopuchián, Cecilia; Milensky, Christopher M. (2022). "Distribution, migratory behavior, and conservation of Hudson's Canastero Asthenes hudsoni (Furnariidae): a grassland specialist from the humid Pampas". Avian Conservation and Ecology. 17 (1). doi: 10.5751/ACE-02152-170125 .