Their tail's inner two pairs of feathers are longer than the others and dusky rufous; the rest are chestnut-rufous and progressively shorter.

Their chin and upper throat are pale orange-rufous, their breast and belly grayish buff with browner sides, and their flanks and undertail coverts tawny ochraceous.

[2] The maquis canastero is a bird of the east side of the Andes, though sources differ on the extent of its range.

[5] The maquis canstero inhabits a variety of semi-humid to arid landscapes including montane scrublands, scrublands with open woodland of Alnus and Polylepis, montane Festuca grasslands with scattered bushes, and agricultural areas with bushes and hedgerows.

It also sings a longer "series of high, squeaky, strained notes, variable in length, accelerating and descending".

The principal threat is destruction of Polylepis woodlands for timber, firewood, and conversion to agriculture and grazing.

"The species nevertheless appears to tolerate at least moderate habitat degradation and is present on cattle pastures and on cultivated land.