# Canastero

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**Canasteros** and **thistletails** are small [passerine](/source/Passerine) [birds](/source/Bird) of [South America](/source/South_America) belonging to the genus ***Asthenes***. The name "canastero" comes from [Spanish](/source/Spanish_language) and means "basket-maker", referring to the large, domed [nests](/source/Nest) these species make of sticks or grass. They inhabit [shrublands](/source/Shrubland) and [grasslands](/source/Grassland) in [temperate climates](/source/Temperate_climate) from the [lowlands](/source/Lowland) to the [highlands](/source/Highland). They feed on [insects](/source/Insect) and other [invertebrates](/source/Invertebrate) gleaned from the ground or the low vegetation.

## Taxonomy

The genus *Asthenes* was introduced in 1853 by the German naturalist [Ludwig Reichenbach](/source/Ludwig_Reichenbach).[1] The name is from [Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek) *asthenēs* meaning "insignificant".[2] The [type species](/source/Type_species) was designated by [George Robert Gray](/source/George_Robert_Gray) in 1855 as *Synallaxis sordida* [Lesson](/source/Ren%C3%A9_Lesson).[3][4] This taxon is now considered to be a [subspecies](/source/Subspecies) of the [sharp-billed canastero](/source/Sharp-billed_canastero) (*Asthenes pyrrholeuca sordida*).[5]

In 2010, it was discovered that the thistletails and the [Itatiaia spinetail](/source/Itatiaia_spinetail), formerly placed in their own genera (*Schizoeaca* and *Oreophylax*, respectively), are actually part of a rapid radiation of long-tailed *Asthenes*.[6] At the same time, four species, the [cactus](/source/Cactus_canastero), [dusky-tailed](/source/Dusky-tailed_canastero), [Steinbach's](/source/Steinbach's_canastero) and [Patagonian canasteros](/source/Patagonian_canastero), were split off into the new genus *[Pseudasthenes](/source/Pseudasthenes)*.[6]

### Species

The genus contains 29 species:[5]

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](/source/Beak). They are mostly dull and brown in colour but vary in tail pattern and presence of streaking. They have trilling [songs](/source/Song).

## Distribution and habitat

Most species occur in open country, including mesic to arid [scrublands](/source/Scrubland) and [grasslands](/source/Grassland). Some species inhabit [dry forests](/source/Dry_forest). Only three species are migratory.[7]

## References

1. Reichenbach, Ludwig (1853). ["Icones ad synopsin avium No. 10 Scansoriae A"](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/47722870). *Handbuch der speciellen Ornithologie* (in German). Dresden und Leipzig: Expedition Vollständigsten Naturgeschichte. pp. 145–218 [146, 168]

1. Jobling, James A. (2010). *The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names*. London: Christopher Helm. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.

1. Gray, George Robert (1855). [*Catalogue of the Genera and Subgenera of Birds Contained in the British Museum*](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/17136647). London: British Museum. p. 27.

1. Peters, James Lee (ed.) (1951). [*Check-List of Birds of the World*](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14480440). Vol. 7. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 103.

1. ["Ovenbirds, woodcreepers"](https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/ovenbirds/). *IOC World Bird List Version 11.1*. International Ornithologists' Union. January 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.

1. 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)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100627083048/http://www.museum.lsu.edu/brumfield/pubs/pseudasthenes.pdf). *[Zootaxa](/source/Zootaxa)*. **2416**: 61–68. [doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2416.1.4](https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2416.1.4). Archived from [the original](http://www.museum.lsu.edu/brumfield/pubs/pseudasthenes.pdf) on 2010-06-27. Retrieved 2011-11-22.

1. 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](https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-02152-170125)

## Further reading

- 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](https://web.archive.org/web/20070625182022/http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~remsen/SACCBaseline06.html)*. Retrieved 17/07/07.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Canastero](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canastero) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canastero?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.