Puna Thistletail - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by Stanley Jones
Abra Malaga, near Ollantaytambo, Cusco Department Peru, September, 2018

Asthenes helleri

Schizoeaca helleri

Identification

17–18 cm (6¾-7 in)

• Greyish supercilium
• Brownish-grey face
• Reddish-brown crown
• Greyish underparts

Distribution

South America: found in the Andes of southern Peru (southern Cuzco and Puno)

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species¹.

Moved to genus Asthenes by Clements (2010)^[1] and IOC (2010)^[1].

Habitat

Alpine grassland and elfin forest. They keep to the dense undergrowth along the tree-line. Observed at heights around 3,256 m, in puna scrub with small patches of Polylepis forest.

Behaviour

Diet

Their main diet consists of arthropods, gleaned from branches and foliage in the understorey. They forage alone or in pairs.

Breeding

They are thought to be monogamous, but there is no other information available.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2010. IOC World Bird Names (version 2.7). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
3. Birdforum thread discussing the taxonomy of Schizoeaca
4. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved November 2018)
5. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Puna Thistletail. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 2 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Puna_Thistletail

External Links

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