Andes of southern Peru (Puno), Bolivia (La Paz, Cochabamba, sight records also from Tarija) and north-western Argentina (Sierra de Aconquija, in Tucumán and north-central Catamarca).
 
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Scribble-tailed Canastero (Asthenes maculicauda) [XC296379]
by Dan Lane from Pongo, La Paz Department, Bolivia (song)
Scribble-tailed Canastero (Asthenes maculicauda) [XC150429]
by Ross Gallardy from Pongo, La Paz Department, Bolivia (song)
Subspecies
No subspecies.
Plumage pattern and biogeography indicate that this species is most closely related to Many-striped Canastero (Asthenes flammulata) and Junin Canastero (Asthenes virgata). Probably part of the superspecies formed by those. Disjunct population in Argentina may represent an undescribed subspecies.