Andean Tit-Spinetail

Identificazione

The Andean tit-spinetail is 15 to 17 cm (5.9 to 6.7 in) long and weighs about 15 to 16 g (0.53 to 0.56 oz). It is a small-bodied, long-tailed furnariid with a short bill. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies L. a. andicola have a wide white supercilium on an otherwise dark streaky gray-brown face. Their crown is rich rufous chestnut with black streaks. Their upperparts are dark gray-brown with prominent white or whitish streaks. Their wings are dark brownish with faint rufescent edges on the coverts and flight feathers. Their tail's central pair of feathers are dusky brown to blackish ard are long and pointed, giving a forked appearance. The rest of the tail feathers are dusky brown to blackish with buffy outer webs. Their throat is white or whitish and their breast and belly are gray-brown with heavy white or whitish streaks that are more diffuse on the flanks and lower belly. Their iris is dark brown to reddish brown, their bill black with a slightly paler base to the mandible, and their legs and feet dark gray to black. Juveniles have little or no streaking on their crown, and their belly is mottled or scaly rather than streaked.<p>Subspecies L. a. extima is smaller than the nominate, with a narrower and buffier supercilium, paler crown streaks, bright cinnamon brown edges on the wing coverts, much cinnamon rufous on the flight feathers, and a buffier brown belly. L. a. certhia has a whiter supercilium than extima, with lighter crown streaks, smaller cinnamon edges on the wing coverts and flight feathers, a whiter throat and breast, and grayer underparts. L. a. exterior compared to extima has a brighter black-streaked rufous crown, wider white streaks on the back, a whiter throat, and a less brownish belly. L. a. peruviana compared to the nominate has a less streaky face, a paler crown with narrower black streaks, paler edges on the wing coverts, wider buff edges on the flight feathers, and a darker breast and belly.

Tassonomia

The Andean tit-spinetail has these five subspecies:

Nome scientifico

Leptasthenura andicola

Autorità

Sclater, PL, 1870

Ordine

Passeriformi

Famiglia

Furnariidae

Genere

Leptasthenura

Areale e habitat

The Andean tit-spinetail has a disjunct distribution from Venezuela to Bolivia. Its subspecies are found thus:<p>The Andean tit-spinetail generally inhabits semi-arid to arid montane scrublands. In the north it also occurs in humid grasslands and páramo, and throughout its range it occurs in Polylepis woodlands. In elevation it is found between 3,400 and 4,400 m (11,200 and 14,400 ft) in Venezuela, 3,000 and 4,200 m (9,800 and 13,800 ft) in Colombia, 3,200 and 4,000 m (10,500 and 13,100 ft) in Ecuador, 3,500 and 4,200 m (11,500 and 13,800 ft) in Peru, and 3,500 and 4,450 m (11,500 and 14,600 ft) in Bolivia.

Migrazione

Specie stanziale

Comportamento

Comportamento migratorio: Specie stanziale.

Conservazione

Tendenza della popolazione: stabile.

Tendenza della popolazione

stabile