Eye-ringed Thistletail

Overview

The eye-ringed thistletail (Asthenes palpebralis) is a bird species belonging to the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to the Andes of Peru and is currently assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN, although its population is believed to be decreasing.

Identification

• Measures 18 to 20 cm in length and weighs between 16 and 18 g, with a long, deeply forked tail that has few barbs at the ends, giving it a ragged appearance.
• Features a wide white eyering and dark brown lores on a chestnut-brown face, with a rusty or orange-rufous patch on the chin and gray underparts.
• Exhibits a vocal song described as a long, slightly undulating or accelerating dry chatter or trill that rises before falling sharply, accompanied by a sharp, rising "peee" or "weee" call.
• Juveniles lack the rusty chin patch found in adults and have paler bellies with browner flanks.

Habitat

Found exclusively in the Andes of Peru's Junín Department, between elevations of 3,030 and 3,710 m. It inhabits the narrow ecotone of the upper edges of cloudforest and the elfin forest above it, where the understory is often dense with Chusquea bamboo.

Diet

Specific dietary details are not well known, but the species is assumed to feed mostly on arthropods gleaned in the understory from foliage, branches, and moss. It is usually observed foraging singly or in pairs.

Did you know?

This species was long treated as a subspecies of the white-chinned thistletail before genetic data revealed that its former genus, Schizoeaca, is actually embedded within Asthenes, leading to its recognition as a separate species.