Plain-mantled Tit-Spinetail (Leptasthenura aegithaloides) [XC39187]
by Andrew Spencer from Mahuida, La Reina, Santiago, Chile (nupcial)
Plain-mantled Tit-Spinetail (Leptasthenura aegithaloides) [XC449981]
by Peter Boesman from Embalse El Yeso, Regi\u00f3n Metropolitana, Chile (call)
Subspecies
Plumage similarities have suggested to some authors that this and Striolated Tit-Spinetail (Leptasthenura striolata) are sister-species, and to others that this and mostly parapatric Tufted Tit-Spinetail (Leptasthenura platensis) are sister-species. Geographical variation in colour follows Gloger's Rule, with populations from arid areas usually the palest in coloration.
The following 4 subspecies are recognised:
grisescens Hellmayr, 1925 - Coastal slope of southern Peru (Arequipa south to Tacna) and northern Chile (Tarapacá south to Atacama).
berlepschi Hartert, 1909 - Andes of southern Peru (central Puno, eastern Tacna), northern Chile (Tarapacá, Antofagasta), western Bolivia (La Paz south to Potosí) and north-western Argentina (Jujuy south to Catamarca). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Buffy Tit-Spinetail (Leptasthenura berlepschi).
aegithaloides (Kittlitz, 1830) - Central Chile (southern Coquimbo south to northern Aisén).
pallida Dabbene, 1920 - Breeds western and southern Argentina (La Rioja, southern La Pampa and south-western Buenos Aires south to Santa Cruz) and southern Chile (east-central Aisén, north-eastern Magallanes); southern populations migrate northern in winter to northern and central Argentina (Catamarca, Tucumán, eastern Buenos Aires). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Pallid Tit-Spinetail (Leptasthenura pallida).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet