Habitat
Dense arid montane scrub and open Polylepis and Alnus woodland with grasses and mixed scrub, tall clumps of Festuca bunchgrass, intermingled with areas of short turf and even patches of bare soil, and shrubbery and hedgerows away from Polylepis. From 2,500 - 4,200 m, occasionally down to 1,600 m.
Andes of northern Bolivia (southern La Paz, Cochabamba, also sight records from Chuquisaca and Tarija) and north-western Argentina (Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán).
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010) and decreasing.
Status NT
Habitat destruction and degradation through clearance for cultivation, firewood-collection and burning for pasture is the main threat.
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.
Voice
Song is an accelerating series of fast clear notes, slightly rising in pitch. Call is a soft short slightly descending 'tuírrrrr trill'.
Maquis Canastero (Asthenes heterura) [XC32180]
by Dan Lane from Salta: Finca El Candado, Argentina (call)
Maquis Canastero (Asthenes heterura) [XC8975]
by Niels Krabbe from Cuesta del Obispo, Salta, Argentina (song)
Subspecies
No subspecies.
Considered by various authors to be a subspecies of Canyon Canastero (Asthenes pudibunda), but tail structure differs, or more closely related to and perhaps conspecific with Rusty-fronted Canastero (Asthenes ottonis) and some have proposed that the three should be treated as forming a superspecies. Others suggest that, on basis of plumage and behavioural similarities (avoidance of cocking tail), closest relative may be Sharp-billed Canastero (Asthenes pyrrholeuca), the two having been confused regularly in the field and as museum specimens.
Similar Species
Rusty-fronted Canastero (Asthenes ottonis) has a rufous forehead and striped neck. Sharp-billed Canastero (Asthenes pyrrholeuca) is similar but greyer and doesn't occur in range. Cordilleran Canastero (Asthenes modesta) always shows streaking on neck and breast.
References
See References.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet