Rusty-crowned Tit-Spinetail

Overview

The rusty-crowned tit-spinetail (Leptasthenura pileata) is a small, long-tailed furnariid bird endemic to the Andes of western Peru. It is a year-round resident classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, with a population believed to be stable.

Identification

• Approximately 15 cm long with a short bill and dark brown iris.
• The nominate subspecies features a rufous crown with narrow white streaks and a short, indistinct white supercilium on a grayish face.
• The back is blackish with narrow white streaks, while the breast and belly are light grayish brown with faint whitish streaks.
• Song consists of a c. 2 s long trill that slightly increases in amplitude and speed, repeated at 3-6 s intervals; calls include a simple 'tsak' and a staccato 'rick teek teek'.

Habitat

Found exclusively in the arid montane scrub and relict woodlands of the Andes in western Peru, particularly in areas dominated by Polylepis trees. The species typically inhabits elevations between 2,900 and 4,200 m, though locally it can be found as low as 2,000 m.

Diet

The bird feeds on arthropods, capturing prey by gleaning from foliage and twigs and by probing and picking at bark, mostly in upper and outer branches. It regularly joins mixed-species foraging flocks, although its specific diet is not known in detail.

Did you know?

While nothing is currently known about its breeding biology, the species was historically linked to another bird when the subspecies L. p. cajabambae was originally described as a variety of the streak-backed tit-spinetail before being recognised as distinct.