Genus of birds
Canasteros and thistletails are small passerine birds of South America belonging to the genus Asthenes Spanish and means "basket-maker", referring to the large, domed nests these species make of sticks or grass. They inhabit shrublands and grasslands in temperate climates from the lowlands to the highlands . They feed on insects and other invertebrates gleaned from the ground or the low vegetation.
Taxonomy
The genus Asthenes was introduced in 1853 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach .[ 3] Ancient Greek asthenēs meaning "insignificant".[ 4] type species was designated by George Robert Gray in 1855 as Synallaxis sordida Lesson .[ 5] [ 6] subspecies of the sharp-billed canastero (Asthenes pyrrholeuca sordida ).[ 7]
In 2010, it was discovered that the thistletails and the Itatiaia spinetail , formerly placed in their own genera (Schizoeaca and Oreophylax , respectively), are actually part of a rapid radiation of long-tailed Asthenes .[ 2] cactus , dusky-tailed , Steinbach's and Patagonian canasteros , were split off into the new genus Pseudasthenes [ 2]
Species
The genus contains 29 species:[ 7]
Description
They are typically 15–18 centimetres (5.9–7.1 in ) long and slim with long tails and thin, pointed bills . They are mostly dull and brown in colour but vary in tail pattern and presence of streaking. They have trilling songs .
Distribution and habitat
Most species occur in open country, including mesic to arid scrublands and grasslands . Some species inhabit dry forests . Only three species are migratory.[ 8]
References
^ Asthenes Reichenbach, 1853 Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera on 2019-08-14.^ a b c Derryberry, Elizabeth; Claramunt, Santiago; O’Quin, Kelly E.; Aleixo, Alexandre; Chesser, R. Terry; Remsen, J.V.; Brumfield, Robb T. (2010). "Pseudasthenes , a new genus of ovenbird (Aves: Passeriformes: Furnariidae)" (PDF) . Zootaxa 2416 : 61–68. doi :10.11646/zootaxa.2416.1.4 . Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-27. Retrieved 2011-11-22 . ^ Reichenbach, Ludwig (1853). "Icones ad synopsin avium No. 10 Scansoriae A" . Handbuch der speciellen Ornithologie (in German). Dresden und Leipzig: Expedition Vollständigsten Naturgeschichte. pp. 145–218 [146, 168].^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . London: Christopher Helm. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 ^ Gray, George Robert (1855). Catalogue of the Genera and Subgenera of Birds Contained in the British Museum ^ Peters, James Lee , ed. (1951). Check-List of Birds of the World ^ a b Gill, Frank ; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela , eds. (January 2021). "Ovenbirds, woodcreepers" . IOC World Bird List Version 11.1 . International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 29 June 2021 .^ Claramunt, Santiago; Aldabe, Joaquín; Etchevers, Ismael; Di Giacomo, Adrián S.; Kopuchián, Cecilia; Milensky, Christopher M. (2022). "Distribution, migratory behavior, and conservation of Hudson's Canastero Asthenes hudsoni (Furnariidae): a grassland specialist from the humid Pampas" . Avian Conservation and Ecology . 17 (1). doi :10.5751/ACE-02152-170125
Further reading
