Canasteros and thistletails are small

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

belonging to the genus ''Asthenes''. The name "canastero" comes from

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

and means "basket-maker", referring to the large, domed

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materi ...

s these species make of sticks or grass. They inhabit

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It ...

s and

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

s in

temperate climate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

s from the

lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of p ...

s to the

highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

s. They feed on

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s and other

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s gleaned from the ground or the low vegetation.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Asthenes'' was introduced in 1853 by the German naturalist

Ludwig Reichenbach Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (8 January 1793 – 17 March 1879) was a German botanist and ornithologist. It was he who first requested Leopold Blaschka to make a set of glass marine invertebrate models for scientific education and museum ...

. The name is from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

''asthenēs'' meaning "insignificant". The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...

was designated by

George Robert Gray George Robert Gray FRS (8 July 1808 – 6 May 1872) was an English zoologist and author, and head of the ornithological section of the British Museum, now the Natural History Museum, in London for forty-one years. He was the younger broth ...

in 1855 as ''Synallaxis sordida''

Lesson A lesson or class is a structured period of time where learning is intended to occur. It involves one or more students (also called pupils or learners in some circumstances) being taught by a teacher or instructor. A lesson may be either one ...

. This taxon is now considered to be a subspecies of the

sharp-billed canastero The sharp-billed canastero or lesser canastero (''Asthenes pyrrholeuca'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae, the ovenbirds. The sharp-billed canastero is a resident breeding species in central and southern Argentina and the eas ...

(''Asthenes pyrrholeuca sordida''). In 2010, it was discovered that the thistletails and the

Itatiaia spinetail The Itatiaia spinetail (''Asthenes moreirae''), also known as the Itatiaia thistletail, is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It was previously placed as the only member of the genus ''Oreophylax''; however, recent classification has ...

, formerly placed in their own genera (''Schizoeaca'' and ''Oreophylax'', respectively), are actually part of a rapid radiation of long-tailed ''Asthenes''. At the same time, four species, the

cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gre ...

, dusky-tailed, Steinbach's and

Patagonian canastero The Patagonian canastero (''Pseudasthenes patagonica'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Argentina. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bus ...

s, were split off into the new genus ''

Pseudasthenes ''Pseudasthenes'' is a genus of small suboscine passerine birds, commonly known as canasteros or false canasteros, in the ovenbird family. It was described in 2010 to accommodate four species split from the related genus '' Asthenes''. The ...

''.

Species

The genus contains 30 species: *

Perijá thistletail The Perija thistletail (''Asthenes perijana'') is an Endangered species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to the Perijá Mountains in Colombia and Venezuela.Clements, J. F., P.C. Rasmu ...

(''Asthenes perijana'') *

White-chinned thistletail The white-chinned thistletail, or colicardo barbiblanco in Ecuador, (''Asthenes fuliginosa'') is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Ta ...

(''Asthenes fuliginosa'') * Vilcabamba thistletail (''Asthenes vilcabambae'') * Ayacucho thistletail (''Asthenes ayacuchensis'') *

Ochre-browed thistletail The ochre-browed thistletail (''Asthenes coryi'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is endemic to western Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland. References ochre-browed thi ...

(''Asthenes coryi'') *

Mouse-colored thistletail The mouse-colored thistletail (''Asthenes griseomurina'') is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru. Taxonomy and systematics The mouse-colored thistletail and many ...

(''Asthenes griseomurina'') *

Eye-ringed thistletail The eye-ringed thistletail (''Asthenes palpebralis'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is endemic to central Peru. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland A grassland is an area where the v ...

(''Asthenes palpebralis'') *

Puna thistletail The puna thistletail (''Asthenes helleri'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is found in Peru and Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red ...

(''Asthenes helleri'') * Black-throated thistletail (''Asthenes harterti'') *

(''Asthenes moreirae'') *

Sharp-billed canastero The sharp-billed canastero or lesser canastero (''Asthenes pyrrholeuca'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae, the ovenbirds. The sharp-billed canastero is a resident breeding species in central and southern Argentina and the eas ...

(''Asthenes pyrrholeuca'') * Short-billed canastero (''Asthenes baeri'') * Canyon canastero (''Asthenes pudibunda'') * Rusty-fronted canastero (''Asthenes ottonis'') *

Maquis canastero The maquis canastero, iquico or iquico canastero (''Asthenes heterura'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is found in the Yungas of Argentina and Bolivia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montan ...

(''Asthenes heterura'') * Cordilleran canastero (''Asthenes modesta'') * Streak-throated canastero, (''Asthenes humilis'') *

Rusty-vented canastero The rusty-vented canastero (''Asthenes dorbignyi''), or creamy-breasted canastero, is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. Taxonomy and systematics The rusty-vented canastero was originally described in the genus '' Bathmidura'' (a sy ...

(''Asthenes dorbignyi'') *

Dark-winged canastero The dark-winged canastero, or Arequipa canastero, (''Asthenes arequipae'') is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. Taxonomy and systematics The dark-wi ...

(''Asthenes arequipae'') * Pale-tailed canastero (''Asthenes huancavelicae'') * Berlepsch's canastero (''Asthenes berlepschi'') *

Cipo canastero The Cipo canastero (''Asthenes luizae'') is a Near Threatened species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Brazil. Taxonomy and systematics The Cipo canastero was described in 1990 fr ...

(''Asthenes luizae'') * Streak-backed canastero (''Asthenes wyatti'') * Puna canastero (''Asthenes sclateri'') *

Austral canastero The austral canastero (''Asthenes anthoides'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae, the ovenbirds. It is found in southern Argentina and Chile, including Tierra del Fuego. It is at least partially migratory, and its range extends ...

(''Asthenes anthoides'') * Hudson's canastero (''Asthenes hudsoni'') * Line-fronted canastero (''Asthenes urubambensis'') * Many-striped canastero (''Asthenes flammulata'') *

Junín canastero The Junín canastero (''Asthenes virgata'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Peru. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland. References Junín canastero Birds of the Peruv ...

(''Asthenes virgata'') * Scribble-tailed canastero (''Asthenes maculicauda'')

Description

They are typically 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

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

Distribution and habitat

Most species occur in open country, including mesic to arid

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It ma ...

s and

s. Some species inhabit

dry forest Dry or dryness most often refers to: * Lack of rainfall, which may refer to **Arid regions **Drought * Dry or dry area, relating to legal prohibition of selling, serving, or imbibing alcoholic beverages * Dry humor, deadpan * Dryness (medical) ...

s. Only three species are migratory.

References

*Jaramillo, Alvaro; Burke, Peter & Beadle, David (2003) ''Field Guide to the Birds of Chile'', Christopher Helm, London *South American Classification Committee (2007)
A classification of the bird species of South America, part 6
'. Retrieved 17/07/07. * Taxa named by Ludwig Reichenbach {{Furnariidae-stub