Small, agile brown bird of the high Andes from central western Argentina to Lake Titicaca. Uses long, stiff tail to forage acrobatically on branches and cliffsides. From similar Tawny Tit-Spinetail by Brown-capped’s erect crest and colder underparts. Prefers semi-open vegetation like shrub, gardens, and Polylepis woodland, often in mixed foraging flocks. Song a very high, dry, twittered trill. Call a high and less dry “skweet!”