Andean Tit-Spinetail

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. The rest of the tail feathers are dusky brown to blackish with buffy outer webs. Their throat is white or whitish and their breast and belly are gray-brown with heavy white or whitish streaks that are more diffuse on the flanks and lower belly. Their iris is dark brown to reddish brown, their bill black with a slightly paler base to the mandible, and their legs and feet dark gray to black. Juveniles have little or no streaking on their crown, and their belly is mottled or scaly rather than streaked. Subspecies L. a. …

The Andean tit-spinetail has a disjunct distribution from Venezuela to Bolivia. Its subspecies are found thus:

Leptasthenura andicola certhia: Andes in western Venezuela's Mérida and Trujillo states Leptasthenura andicola extima: the isolated Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia Leptasthenura andicola exterior: Colombia's Eastern Andes in Boyacá and Cundinamarca departments Leptasthenura andicola andicola: from Tolima Department in Colombia's Central Andes south in the Andes of Ecuador to Zamora-Chinchipe Province Leptasthenura andicola peruviana: Andes of western and southern Peru from Ancash to Arequipa and Puno departments, and into Bolivia as far as La Paz Department The Andean tit-spinetail generally inhabits semi-arid to arid montane scrublands. In the north it also occurs in humid grasslands and páramo, and throughout its range it occurs in Polylepis woodlands. In elevation it is found 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.

The Andean tit-spinetail feeds on arthropods but its diet is not known in detail. It typically forages in pairs or small groups, but only occasionally joins mixed-species feeding flocks. It is an active forager, gleaning from foliage, flowers, and twigs as it hops along branches. It often hangs upside down to capture prey.