Canyon Canastero (Asthenes pudibunda)

Identification & Behavior: ~17 cm (6.6 in). The Canyon Canastero has a brown mantle, most of the head (the crown is brownish), and breast. The folded wings are rufous. It has an orange chin patch that can be difficult to distinguish in the field. The tail is mostly rufous with dusky on the central tail feathers. The juvenile is a dull version of the adult with fine dusky barring on the breast. It forages in Andean scrub. It is similar to the  Cordilleran Canastero but is distinguished by a more brown and rufous plumage and by foraging in scrub in ravines and vegetated hillsides.

Status: The Canyon Canastero is fairly common on the west slope of the Andes at elevations ranging between 2450-4000 m. It also occurs in Ch.

Name in Spanish: Canastero de Quebradas.

Sub-species: Canyon Canastero (Asthenes pudibunda neglecta), Cory, 1916.  NW Peru in W Andes (La Libertad, Ancash).
(Asthenes pudibunda pudibunda), (P. L. Sclater), 1874.  W Peru in W Andes (Lima).
(Asthenes pudibunda grisior), Koepcke, 1961.  Andes of SW Peru (Huancavelica to Tacna) and N Chile (Tarapacá).

Meaning of Name: Asthenes: Gr. a= a negative prefix and sthenos= power. asthenes= insignificant, powerless. pudibunda: L. pudere= to be ashamed. Pudibundus= bashful, shamefaced, modest.

See more of the Family Furnariidae