The chestnut-winged cinclodes is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the bar-winged cinclodes. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland and grassland.
Region
Northern Andes
Typical Environment
Occurs in high Andean shrublands and grasslands (páramo and jalca) of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and northern Peru. It favors open, windswept slopes with scattered shrubs, damp meadows, and stream edges. Birds are often seen on rocky ground, track edges, and around human-altered pastures at high elevations. Locally it also uses edges of Polylepis patches and boggy areas.
Altitude Range
2500–4500 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Formerly treated as part of the Bar-winged Cinclodes complex, the chestnut-winged cinclodes is now recognized as a distinct northern Andean species. It frequents páramo and high-altitude grasslands, often near streams and rocky slopes. It typically nests in cavities or burrows in earthen banks and forages on the ground in pairs or small family groups.
Temperament
active and wary
Flight Pattern
low, direct flight with short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually seen singly, in pairs, or small family groups, foraging on the ground or low vegetation. Pairs are territorial in the breeding season and nest in cavities or burrows in banks, walls, or earthen slopes lined with plant fibers. Both parents typically attend the young.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Song is a fast, dry trill that may accelerate or rise slightly, with mechanical, rattling quality typical of furnariids. Calls include sharp chips and short trills given in flight or while foraging.
Plumage
Earthy brown upperparts with a bold rufous-chestnut panel across the wings and rufous in the tail, contrasting with paler underparts. Shows a prominent whitish supercilium, slightly streaked throat and breast, and a whitish to buff belly. Flight reveals rich chestnut secondaries and coverts forming a conspicuous wing band.
Diet
Feeds mainly on insects and other small invertebrates such as beetles, larvae, and small spiders. It probes soil, moss, and mud along streams and picks prey from rocks and low vegetation. Occasionally takes small aquatic invertebrates in boggy areas.
Preferred Environment
Forages on open ground, along paths, around boulders, and beside high-elevation streams and seeps. Often uses the edges of pastures and páramo grass tussocks where prey is exposed by wind and grazing.
