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| 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] | |
| |
Canasteros andthistletails are smallpasserinebirds ofSouth America belonging to the genusAsthenes. The name "canastero" comes fromSpanish and means "basket-maker", referring to the large, domednests these species make of sticks or grass. They inhabitshrublands andgrasslands intemperate climates from thelowlands to thehighlands. They feed oninsects and otherinvertebrates gleaned from the ground or the low vegetation.
The genusAsthenes was introduced in 1853 by the German naturalistLudwig Reichenbach.[3] The name is fromAncient Greekasthenēs meaning "insignificant".[4] Thetype species was designated byGeorge Robert Gray in 1855 asSynallaxis sordidaLesson.[5][6] This taxon is now considered to be asubspecies of thesharp-billed canastero (Asthenes pyrrholeuca sordida).[7]
In 2010, it was discovered that the thistletails and theItatiaia spinetail, formerly placed in their own genera (Schizoeaca andOreophylax, respectively), are actually part of a rapid radiation of long-tailedAsthenes.[2] At the same time, four species, thecactus,dusky-tailed,Steinbach's andPatagonian canasteros, were split off into the new genusPseudasthenes.[2]
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 andLos 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 andSierras 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 |
They are typically 15–18centimetres (5.9–7.1 in) long and slim with long tails and thin, pointedbills. They are mostly dull and brown in colour but vary in tail pattern and presence of streaking. They have trillingsongs.
Most species occur in open country, including mesic to aridscrublands andgrasslands. Some species inhabitdry forests. Only three species are migratory.[8]
