Andean Tit-Spinetail

About the Andean Tit-Spinetail

The Andean tit-spinetail (Leptasthenura andicola) is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. The Andean tit-spinetail has these five subspecies:

Leptasthenura andicola certhia (Madarász, G, 1903) Leptasthenura andicola extima Todd, 1916 Leptasthenura andicola exterior Todd, 1919 Leptasthenura andicola andicola Sclater, PL, 1870 Leptasthenura andicola peruviana Chapman, 1919

The Andean tit-spinetail is 15 to 17 cm (5.9 to 6.7 in) long and weighs about 15 to 16 g (0.53 to 0.56 oz). It is a small-bodied, long-tailed furnariid with a short bill. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies L. a. andicola have a wide white supercilium on an otherwise dark streaky gray-brown face. Their crown is rich rufous chestnut with black streaks. Their upperparts are dark gray-brown with prominent white or whitish streaks. Their wings are dark brownish with faint rufescent edges on the coverts and flight feathers. Their tail's central pair of feathers are dusky brown to blackish ard are long and pointed, giving a forked appearance... Wikipedia →