Short-billed Canastero

The short-billed canastero is 14 to 15 cm (5.5 to 5.9 in) long and weighs 10 to 18 g (0.35 to 0.63 oz). It has a short and thick bill, and is more similar to the wholly unrelated little thornbird (Phacellodomus sibilatrix) than to other canasteros. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have an indistinct wide grayish supercilium on an otherwise dull grayish brown face. Their crown is dull gray-brown, their back a slightly grayer brown, and their rump and uppertail coverts gray with a brown tinge. Voice: The short-billed canastero's song is "a high-pitched, fast seep seep seepseepseep..., speeding up to and ending in a trill". Sometimes the introductory notes are omitted. It also gives a "series of short, buzzing 'pzzz' phrases.