Cordilleran Canastero

About the Cordilleran Canastero

The cordilleran canastero (Asthenes modesta) is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. The cordilleran canastero's taxonomy is unsettled. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) assign it these seven subspecies:

A. m. proxima (Chapman, 1921) A. m. modesta (Eyton, 1852) A. m. hilereti (Oustalet, 1904) A. m. rostrata (von Berlepsch, 1901) A. m. serrana Nores, 1986 A. m. cordobae Nores & Yzurieta, 1980 A. m. australis Hellmayr, 1925

An eighth subspecies, A. m. navasi, has been proposed but cannot be differentiated from A. m. australis. The Clements taxonomy does not recognize A. m. hilereti and A. m. cordobae. It includes hilereti within modesta and cordobae within serrana.

This article follows the seven-subspecies model. The cordilleran canastero is 15 to 16 cm (5.9 to 6.3 in) long and weighs 13 to 22 g (0.46 to 0.78 oz). It is one of the smaller canasteros. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies A. m. modesta have a narrow light buff-brown... Wikipedia →