| Vilcabamba thistletail | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Furnariidae |
| Genus: | Asthenes |
| Species: | A. vilcabambae |
| Binomial name | |
| Asthenes vilcabambae | |
 | |
| Synonyms | |
Schizoeaca vilcabambae | |
The Vilcabamba thistletail (Asthenes vilcabambae) is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to the Vilcabamba Mountains of Peru. [2]
The Vilcabamba thistletail was originally described as a subspecies of the white-chinned thistletail (then Schizoeaca fuliginosa, now Asthenes fuliginosa). [3] It was later separated as a species, and later still was treated as conspecific with what is now the Ayacucho thistletail (Asthenes ayacuchensis). These species and several others were long assigned to genus Schizoeaca but genetic data showed that the genus is embedded within Asthenes. [4] A phylogenetic study published in 2015 that examined both DNA sequence data and vocalization recordings of members of the genus Asthenes found that the Ayacucho thistletail was more similar to the eye-ringed thistletail than it was to the Vilcabamba thistletail. [5] Based on this evidence the Vilcabamba and Ayacucho thistletails were separated as species. [6] [7]
The Vilcabamba thistletail is 18 to 20 cm (7.1 to 7.9 in) long and weighs 18.5 to 22 g (0.65 to 0.78 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a brownish face with a paler brown forehead and wide supercilium. Their crown is brownish faintly spotted with black. Their back and rump are brownish and their wings dark brown with rufous edges to the feathers. Their tail is a paler but more rufescent brown than the back; it is long and deeply forked with few barbs at the feather ends that give a ragged appearance. Their chin is light ochraceous to tawny, their throat pale grayish brown, and their underparts a darker grayish with a faint scaled appearance and brownish flanks. Their iris is dark brown, their bill blackish to dark gray with sometimes a pale base to the mandible, and their legs and feet dark bluish gray. [4]
The Vilcabamba thistletail is found only in the northern and central Cordillera Vilcabamba of Peru. There it occurs east of the Apurímac River in the departments of Junín and Cuzco. It primarily inhabits elfin forest and Polylepis woodlands in the tree line ecotone. It is found in lesser numbers in the higher páramo grassland and lower cloudforest. It favors areas with dense stands of Chusquea bamboo. In elevation it ranges mostly between 2,800 and 3,600 m (9,200 and 11,800 ft) and is rarely found as low as 2,500 m (8,200 ft). [4]
The Vilcabamba thistletail is believed to be a year-round resident throughout its range. [4]
The Vilcabamba thistletail's diet and foraging behavior are essentially unknown. It is usually seen singly or in pairs. It is assumed to feed mostly on arthropods that it gleans from foliage. [4]
Nothing is known about the Vicabamba thistletail's breeding biology. [4]
The Volcabamba thistletail's main song is "several clear, slightly rising notes that progressively increase in speed...into a fast trill...and then ends on a single slightly lower-pitched note." Another song is "short, fast bursts of 3-4 strongly overslurred notes". Its main call is a short "pyeek". [4]
The IUCN has assessed the Vilcabamba thistletail as being of Least Concern. It has a very restricted range and an unknown population size, though the latter is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified. [1] It is apparently "quite common in appropriate habitat" and "[l]arge portions of [its] range are in areas currently inaccessible to human disturbance." Much of the range is within Otishi National Park. [4]
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.
The short-billed canastero is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The many-striped canastero is a species of passerine bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The streak-throated canastero is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia and Peru.
The scribble-tailed canastero is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru.
The rusty-fronted canastero is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Peru.
The canyon canastero is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Chile and Peru.
The sharp-billed canastero or lesser canastero is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay, and has also occurred as a vagrant in Brazil.
The line-fronted canastero is a Near Threatened species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia and Peru.
The Junin canastero is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Peru.
The brown-rumped foliage-gleaner is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The Itatiaia spinetail, also known as the Itatiaia thistletail, is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to southeastern Brazil.
The white-chinned thistletail or colicardo barbiblanco is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland.
The black-throated thistletail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Bolivia.
The puna thistletail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Peru and Bolivia.
The eye-ringed thistletail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to central Peru.
The Peruvian recurvebill is a Near Threatened species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil and Peru.
The rufous-necked foliage-gleaner is a Vulnerable species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru.
The pale-tailed canastero, is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Peru.
The Ayacucho thistletail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to the Department of Ayacucho, Peru.
