Junín Canastero (Asthenes virgata)

Identification & Behavior: ~18 cm (7 in). The Junin Canastero has heavily streaked upperparts and underparts. It has an orange chin patch. It forages in humid scrub and shrubs interspersed with bunch grass. It is very similar to the Many-striped Canastero but these two canasteros replace each other geographically. The also similar Line-fronted Canastero has a largely unstreaked mantle.

Status: Endemic. The Junin Canastero is uncommon at high elevations in the southern half of Peru in two disjunct populations.

Name in Spanish: Canastero de Junín.

Sub-species: Junín Canastero (Asthenes virgata),  P. L. Sclater, 1874.

Meaning of Name: Asthenes: Gr. a= a negative prefix and sthenos= power. asthenes= insignificant, powerless. virgata: L. virga= streak, virgatus= striped, streaked.

See more of the Family Furnariidae