About Leptasthenura andicola P.L.Sclater, 1870
The Andean tit-spinetail, scientific name Leptasthenura andicola P.L.Sclater, 1870, measures 15 to 17 cm (5.9 to 6.7 in) in length and weighs approximately 15 to 16 g (0.53 to 0.56 oz). It is a small-bodied furnariid with a long tail and a short bill. The sexes have identical 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 marked 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. The central pair of its tail feathers are dusky brown to blackish, long and pointed, which creates a forked appearance. The remaining tail feathers are dusky brown to blackish with buffy outer webs. Its throat is white or whitish, while its breast and belly are gray-brown with heavy white or whitish streaks that become more diffuse on the flanks and lower belly. Its iris is dark brown to reddish brown, its bill is black with a slightly paler base to the mandible, and its legs and feet are dark gray to black. Juveniles have little to no streaking on the crown, and their belly is mottled or scaly rather than streaked.
Subspecies L. a. extima is smaller than the nominate. It has a narrower and buffier supercilium, paler crown streaks, bright cinnamon brown edges on the wing coverts, a large amount of cinnamon rufous on the flight feathers, and a buffier brown belly. L. a. certhia has a whiter supercilium than L. a. extima, along with lighter crown streaks, smaller cinnamon edges on the wing coverts and flight feathers, a whiter throat and breast, and grayer underparts. Compared to L. a. extima, L. a. exterior has a brighter rufous crown with black streaks, wider white streaks on the back, a whiter throat, and a less brownish belly. Compared to the nominate subspecies, L. a. peruviana has a less streaky face, a paler crown with narrower black streaks, paler edges on the wing coverts, wider buff edges on the flight feathers, and a darker breast and belly.
The Andean tit-spinetail has a disjunct distribution ranging from Venezuela to Bolivia. Its subspecies occupy separate ranges: L. a. certhia is found in the Andes of western Venezuela's Mérida and Trujillo states; L. a. extima lives in the isolated Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia; L. a. exterior occurs in Colombia's Eastern Andes in Boyacá and Cundinamarca departments; L. a. andicola ranges from Tolima Department in Colombia's Central Andes south through the Andes of Ecuador to Zamora-Chinchipe Province; L. a. peruviana is found in the Andes of western and southern Peru from Ancash to Arequipa and Puno departments, and extends into Bolivia as far as La Paz Department.
The Andean tit-spinetail generally inhabits semi-arid to arid montane scrublands. In the northern part of its range, it also occurs in humid grasslands and páramo, and it is found in Polylepis woodlands across its entire range. Its elevation range differs by country: between 3,400 and 4,400 m (11,200 and 14,400 ft) in Venezuela, 3,000 and 4,200 m (9,800 and 13,800 ft) in Colombia, 3,200 and 4,000 m (10,500 and 13,100 ft) in Ecuador, 3,500 and 4,200 m (11,500 and 13,800 ft) in Peru, and 3,500 and 4,450 m (11,500 and 14,600 ft) in Bolivia.
