Geositta

Miners
File:Slender-billed Miner (Geositta tenuirostris) from side.jpg
Slender-billed miner (Geositta tenuirostris)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Furnariidae
Genus:	Geositta Swainson, 1837
Species
11, see text

Geositta is a genus of passerine birds in the ovenbird family, Furnariidae. They are known as miners (not to be confused with the unrelated miners, Manorina, of Australia) due to the tunnels they dig for nesting. There are 11 species including the campo miner (Geositta poeciloptera) which was formerly classified in a genus of its own, Geobates. They inhabit open country in South America, particularly the Andean and Patagonian regions. They are ground-dwelling birds, somewhat resembling the larks and wheatears of other continents. They are mostly drab brown in coloration and often have a fairly long and slender bill.

Species list

• Coastal miner, Geositta peruviana
• Common miner, Geositta cunicularia
• Slender-billed miner, Geositta tenuirostris
• Short-billed miner, Geositta antarctica
• Creamy-rumped miner, Geositta isabellina
• Dark-winged miner, Geositta saxicolina
• Greyish miner, Geositta maritima
• Puna miner, Geositta punensis
• Rufous-banded miner, Geositta rufipennis
• Campo miner, Geositta poeciloptera
• Thick-billed miner, Geositta crassirostris

References

• Jaramillo, Alvaro; Burke, Peter & Beadle, David (2003) Field Guide to the Birds of Chile, Christopher Helm, London
• South American Classification Committee (2007) A classification of the bird species of South America, part 6. Retrieved 08/06/07.