Rusty-vented Canastero

Overview

The rusty-vented canastero (Asthenes dorbignyi) is a medium-sized bird in the ovenbird family Furnariidae, also known as the creamy-breasted canastero. Its taxonomy remains unsettled, with some authorities suggesting it may belong to the thornbird genus Phacellodomus.

Identification

• A dull buff face with a light gray supercilium and an indistinct brownish line behind the eye.
• Pale brown crown, nape, and back with rufous brown rump and uppertail coverts.
• Orange rufous throat center contrasting with creamy white breast and belly, and tawny rufous flanks.
• Song begins with introductory notes, accelerates and ascends, then descends and decelerates; calls are described as a wheezy, earthcreeper-like whee or a rising, penetrating shreep.

Habitat

Found in the Andes of Bolivia and Argentina, specifically in the Cochabamba, La Paz, Oruro, Potosí, and Mendoza provinces. It inhabits arid landscapes, particularly scrublands and nearby woodlands.

Diet

The diet consists mainly of arthropods and includes seeds. The bird forages on the ground and in low woody vegetation, usually singly or in pairs, by gleaning for prey.

Did you know?

Small family groups roost in their globular, thorny-stick nests year-round, and both sexes participate in building these structures.