White-throated Cacholote

The white-throated cacholote is 22 to 23 cm (8.7 to 9.1 in) long and weighs 63 to 79 g (2.2 to 2.8 oz). It is one of the largest furnariids and has a small crest. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a white eyering and lores on an otherwise dark brownish gray face. Their crown and upperparts are also dark brownish gray. Their wings are mostly the same dark brownish gray, with slightly paler edges on the coverts and flight feathers. Their tail is dark fuscous gray with slightly paler edges to the feathers; the feathers have few barbs on their ends. Their chin and throat are white with black at the bottom of the throat. Their breast and belly are a paler brownish gray than the back, with grayish white tips on many feathers giving a "frosty" appearance. Their vent area and undertail coverts are slightly paler than the breast and belly. Their iris is yellow to creamy-buff or dark brown, their maxilla dark gray, their mandible pale bluish with a dark gray tip, and their legs and feet gray. Juveniles have some light mottling or barring on the underparts. Subspecies P. g. ochroleuca is paler and more sandy overall than the nominate.

Subspecies P. g. ochroleuca of the white-throated cacholote is the more northerly of the two; it is found in northwestern Argentina. The nominate subspecies is found in central Argentina. The geographic dividing line or overlap area between them is unclear. The species inhabits generally barren landscapes such as arid scrublands in lowlands and montane valleys; in the north it also occurs in woodlands dominated by Prosopis. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 2,900 m (9,500 ft).

The white-throated cacholote feeds primarily on arthropods. It usually forages in pairs or small groups that might be families. It feeds mostly on the ground, gleaning, probing, and digging in soil. It has also been observed digging into cactus stems.