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Canastero

Canastero

2023-07-18 Snargl 0 minute 0 second

What is the animal Canastero known for?

The animal canastero is not a single species, but a group of small passerine birds that belong to the genus Asthenes.
They are native to South America and are known for their large, domed nests made of sticks or grass.
The name "canastero" comes from Spanish and means "basket-maker", referring to their nest-building skills.

Canasteros are mostly brown or gray in color, with some species having streaks, spots, or rufous patches on their plumage.
They have long tails that they often hold upright.
They feed on insects and other invertebrates that they find on the ground or in low vegetation.
They are usually found in shrublands and grasslands, from the lowlands to the highlands, in temperate climates.

There are 29 species of canasteros, some of which are also called thistletails.
They vary in size, shape, and color, but share the same general appearance and behavior.
Some of the most common or distinctive species are:
  • The sharp-billed canastero ( Asthenes pyrrholeuca ), which has a whitish throat with black flecks and a black bill.
    It is found in the Andes from Colombia to Argentina.

  • The dusky-tailed canastero ( Pseudasthenes humicola ), which has a dark brown face with a whitish supercilium and a rufous shoulder.
    It is endemic to Chile and lives in dry scrub and cactus habitats.

  • The Itatiaia spinetail ( Asthenes moreirae ), which has a black-and-white striped head and a chestnut back.
    It is endemic to the Atlantic forest of southeastern Brazil and lives in bamboo thickets.

  • The streak-backed canastero ( Asthenes wyatti ), which has a streaked back and a rufous tail.
    It is found in the Andes of Peru and Bolivia and lives in humid montane forests.

Canasteros are not very well studied and some of their relationships and taxonomy are still unclear.
They are closely related to the ovenbirds, another group of South American birds that are known for their elaborate nests.
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Where does the Canastero live?

The canastero is a common name for a group of small passerine birds that belong to the genus Asthenes.

They are native to South America, where they inhabit various types of shrublands and grasslands, from the lowlands to the highlands.

There are 29 species of canasteros, each with its own distribution and habitat preferences.

Some of them are restricted to specific regions, such as the Perijá thistletail ( Asthenes perijana) that occurs only in the Perijá Mountains of Colombia and Venezuela, or the Cipo canastero ( Asthenes luizae) that is endemic to the Cipó Mountains of Brazil.

Other species have wider ranges, such as the sharp-billed canastero ( Asthenes pyrrholeuca) that occurs from Colombia to Argentina, or the austral canastero ( Asthenes anthoides) that ranges from Peru to Tierra del Fuego.

Canasteros are adapted to different climatic zones, from the humid and cold Andean highlands to the arid and warm lowland deserts.

They prefer dense and thorny vegetation, such as Polylepis woodland, cactus scrub, or thistle patches, where they build their large, domed nests of sticks or grass.

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What does the Canastero look like?

The Canastero is a small bird that belongs to the genus Asthenes, which includes 29 species of canasteros and thistletails.
The name "canastero" means "basket-maker" in Spanish, because these birds build large, domed nests of sticks or grass.
They live in shrublands and grasslands in temperate climates of South America, from the lowlands to the highlands.
These birds eat insects and other invertebrates that they find on the ground or on low vegetation.

The Canastero has a brownish-olive head, back, rump and tail, with a whitish eyebrow stripe.
The throat and front of the neck are whitish with black spots, the breast and belly are gray-brown with gray stripes, and the flanks are dark brown.
These birds have wings with blackish primaries and brownish elytra with a cinnamon spot on the fold.
Canastero's tail is blackish, its beak is black and its legs are black.
Its is about 16 to 17 cm long.

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The images you see on this page have been generated by AI - they are not real images of Canastero, but they are great nonetheless! :)
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