Streak-fronted Thornbird Phacellodomus striaticeps Scientific name definitions

The Streak-fronted Thornbird of Peru, Bolivia and Argentina is the highland representative of this group. It is found in mid to high elevation ravines with small trees or shrubs. It is a relatively small and slim thornbird with slightly streaked crown, rufous shoulders and noticeable rufous sides to a darker tail. The Streak-fronted makes a classic domed stick nest of a thornbird, but it has the distinctive habit of anchoring the nest to a shrub or branch that overhangs a cliff or ravine, therefore thwarting mammalian predators with an aversion to heights. The Streak-fronted is perhaps the most terrestrial of all thornbirds, perhaps due to its more open and simple highland habitat. When on the ground it can remind one of a canastero, but the thick bill suggests otherwise.