Perija Thistletail
Asthenes perijana
A gray and brown bird with a long, wispy tail restricted to the Perijá Mountains along the Colombia-Venezuela border. Separated from Streak-backed Canastero by having a plain back, no orange chin patch, and a longer tail with thinner feathers. Inhabits dense thickets at high elevations near and above tree line. Gives a series of piping notes that quickly rises in pitch and then speeds up into a trill.
Identification
The Perija thistletail is 19 to 22 cm (7.5 to 8.7 in) long and weighs 16 to 21 g (0.56 to 0.74 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a faint grayish supercilium. Their crown, back, rump, and tail are grayish olive-brown. Their wings are grayish olive-brown with chestnut on the coverts and the base of the flight feathers. Their tail is long and deeply forked with few barbs at the feather ends that give a ragged appearance. Their chin has a cinnamon-buff patch. Their throat and the rest of their underparts are brownish gray. Their iris is reddish brown, their maxilla black, their mandible grayish with a black tip, and their legs and feet gray.
Taxonomy
The Perija thistletail was long treated as a subspecies of the white-chinned thistletail (then Schizoeaca fuliginosa, now Asthenes fuliginosa) but was eventually separated as a species. They and several other species were in genus Schizoeaca but genetic data showed that the genus is embedded within Asthenes. The Perija thistletail is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Asthenes perijana
- Authority
- (Phelps, WH Jr, 1977)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Furnariidae
- Genus
- Asthenes
Range and habitat
The Perija thistletail is found only in the Serranía del Perijá, a mountain range that straddles the border between northeastern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela. It primarily inhabits páramo grasslands, the upper edge of cloudforest, and dense undergrowth at tree line. In elevation it ranges between 2,950 and 3,400 m (9,700 and 11,200 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The Perija thistletail is believed to be a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>The Perija thistletail feeds mostly on arthropods and occasionally adds berries to its diet. It forages in the undergrowth, usually singly or in pairs. It is believed to forage by gleaning prey from foliage and branches.<p>The Perija thistletail's breeding season has not been defined but includes July. Nothing else is known about the species' breeding biology.<p>The Perija thistletail's song is "some 3-5 drawn out high-pitched 'pee' notes followed by a short descending dry trill".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Southern Giant-Petrel
Macronectes giganteus
Widespread and fairly common; readily seen from shore and ferries in Tierra del Fuego. Giant-Petrels are known as vultures of the Southern Ocean and can scavenge with gulls at sewage outflows or with albatrosses at fishing boats; often follows ships. Very large (size of smaller albatross) with a very big pale bill that always has a diagnostic pale greenish tip. Plumage varies; most birds are dark overall or with whitish head, rarely whitish head and underparts; scarce white morph is snow-white overall with scattered black feathers.
Pampas Pipit
Anthus chacoensis
Heavily streaked pipit of the Pampas bunch grass lands of central Argentina. From other pipits by densely streaked nape and auriculars, and distinctive song, but very similar to Yellowish Pipit. Song long series of radio dry notes, followed immediately by slightly slower dry notes, generally given in high fluttering flight display.
Bornean Crested Fireback
Lophura ignita
A spectacular dark pheasant of tropical lowland and lower montane rainforests. Male is glossy blue-black with a tufted crest and female is warm chocolate brown. Note the electric blue facial skin and whitish legs. Similar to Bulwer’s Pheasant but male Bornean Crested has bright orange belly and yellowish tail; female has pale-edged feathers on the underparts. Forages singly or in small groups on the forest floor. Shy but has become habituated in some places. Gives guttural “chuckit!” or soft ”weep” calls. Males also give a wing-whirring display.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.