| Short-billed miner | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Furnariidae |
| Genus: | Geositta |
| Species: | G. antarctica |
| Binomial name | |
| Geositta antarctica Landbeck, 1880 | |
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The short-billed miner (Geositta antarctica) is a species of bird in the subfamily Sclerurinae, the leaftossers and miners, of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina and Chile. [2]
The short-billed miner is monotypic. [2] Though it looks very similar to the widespread common miner (G. cunicularia), its closest relative is the creamy-rumped miner (G. isabellina). [3]
The short-billed miner is a medium-size member of its genus. It is 15 to 16 cm (5.9 to 6.3 in) long and weighs 34 to 40 g (1.2 to 1.4 oz). The sexes are alike. Adults have a dull grayish brown face with a pale supercilium and a darker line behind the eye. Their upperparts are mostly grayish brown with whitish uppertail coverts. Their tail's inner feathers are blackish brown and the outer three pairs of feathers are mostly whitish. Their wings are dark brown with a vague grayish band. Their underparts are dull whitish with light buff-brown streaks on the breast. Their iris is brown, their short bill is blackish with a paler base to the mandible, and their legs and feet are blackish. Juveniles have pale tips on the crown feathers and fainter streaks on the breast than adults. It shares part of its range with the common miner but differs in its much shorter bill and the absence of any rufous in the flight feathers. [3] [4]
The short-billed miner is one of the world's most southerly breeding passerines. It mostly breeds in Argentina on Tierra del Fuego. It also breeds in lesser numbers on the mainland in the southern part of Argentina's Santa Cruz Province and in southern Chile's Magallanes Region. In the non-breeding season some move north in western Argentina as far as Mendoza Province. [3] [4]
The short-billed miner inhabits the Patagonian Steppe, a landscape of barren plains with sparse grasses and scattered shrubs. It also occurs in more temperate grasslands and in sandy coastal areas. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 1,000 m (3,300 ft). [3] [4]
The short-billed miner is a year-round resident on Tierra del Fuego and the southern mainland. Some individuals move further north in Argentina after breeding. [3] [4]
The short-billed miner usually forages singly or in pairs. It feeds by gleaning arthropods and seeds from the ground. [3]
The short-billed miner breeds in the austral summer, roughly including November to January. It is assumed to be monogamous. It nests in a tunnel excavated in the side of a dune or earthen bank; a nest chamber at the end is floored with grasses. The clutch size is three eggs. [3] [5] It has been reported to nest in loose colonies with other Furnariidae species. [4]
The short-billed miner's song is a "series of doubled notes, 'weetuk-weetuk-weetuk-weetuk-weetuk' ". Its flight call is "a shrill 'tjeek, de trrrit, trritrritrritrritrrie' ". [3]
The IUCN has assessed the short-billed miner as being of Least Concern. It has a fairly large range, and though its population size is not known it is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified, though changes in its habitat due to climate change might affect the species in the future. [1] It is considered fairly common to abundant. Its "[h]abitat occupied appears to be reasonably safe from anthropogenic disturbances, with the exception of overgrazing." [3]
The pale-breasted spinetail, is a passerine bird which breeds in the tropical New World from Costa Rica to Uruguay, and in Trinidad.
The plain xenops is a passerine bird which breeds in moist lowland forests in the tropical New World from southern Mexico south to western Ecuador, northeastern Argentina and central Brazil.
The rufous hornero is a medium-sized ovenbird in the family Furnariidae. It occurs in eastern South America, and is the national bird of Argentina. Also known as the red ovenbird, it is common in savannas, second-growth scrub, pastures and agricultural land and is synanthropic. Its range includes midwestern, southeastern and southern Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and northern and central Argentina, extending as far south as northern Patagonia. The species is most closely related to the crested hornero of Paraguay and Argentina. There are four accepted subspecies.
The blackish cinclodes is a passerine bird of the genus Cinclodes belonging to the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is native to the southern tip of South America including the Falkland Islands where it is known as the tussac-bird or tussock-bird. It is often very tame and will approach humans closely.
The common miner is a passerine bird in the subfamily Sclerurinae, the leaftossers and miners, of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay.
The lesser ground cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the tribe Neomorphini of subfamily Crotophaginae. It is found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.
The black-winged ground dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The dark-bellied cinclodes is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina and Chile. Its natural habitats are rivers and rocky shores. The dark-bellied cinclodes is distributed in Chile from about Santiago southwards to Tierra del Fuego and in adjacent areas of extreme western Argentina. It is found near streams, lakes and marshlands from sea level up to 2,500 m. It has a bold white supercilium and throat.
The thick-billed miner is a species of bird in the subfamily Sclerurinae, the leaftossers and miners, of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Peru.
The creamy-rumped miner is a species of bird in the subfamily Sclerurinae, the leaftossers and miners, of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina and Chile.
The greyish miner is a species of bird in the subfamily Sclerurinae, the leaftossers and miners, of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Chile and Peru.
The coastal miner is a species of bird in the subfamily Sclerurinae, the leaftossers and miners, of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Peru.
The campo miner is a Vulnerable species of bird in the subfamily Sclerurinae, the leaftossers and miners, of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia and Brazil, and as a vagrant in Paraguay.
The puna miner is a passerine bird in the subfamily Sclerurinae, the leaftossers and miners, of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru.
The rufous-banded miner is a species of bird in the subfamily Sclerurinae, the leaftossers and miners, of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile.
The dark-winged miner is a species of bird in the subfamily Sclerurinae, the leaftossers and miners, of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Peru.
The slender-billed miner is a species of bird in the subfamily Sclerurinae, the leaftossers and miners, of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The Patagonian mockingbird is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is found in much of Argentina and locally in Chile.
The white-throated treerunner is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is the only species in the genus Pygarrhichas. The white-throated treerunner is about 15 cm (5.9 in) long, with a stiff and rounded tail. The upperparts are dark brown, turning red on the lower back and tail and contrasting sharply with the throat and chest of a bright white. The rest of the underparts are coarsely mottled with white. The bill is long, slightly curved upwards. The general appearance is reminiscent of a nuthatch, although they are not directly related. Like the Sittidae, Furnariidae tirelessly scours the trunks and branches of old trees for the small arthropods that make up its food, spiraling up the trunks, or sometimes moving head down. The white-throated treerunner consumes small invertebrates found on bark and nests in tree cavities. Outside of the breeding season, it may form mixed-species foraging flocks with other bird species.
The grey-throated leaftosser is a Near Threatened species of bird in the subfamily Sclerurinae, the leaftossers and miners, of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.
