This is a large family of small to medium-sized birds, ranging from 9 to 35 centimetres in length. The ovenbirds are a diverse group of insectivores which get their name from the elaborate, vaguely "oven-like" clay nests built by the Horneros, although most other ovenbirds build stick nests or nest in tunnels or clefts in rock. Furnariid nests are always constructed with a cover. While individial species often are habitat specialists, species of this family can be found in virtually any Neotropical habitat, ranging from city parks inhabited by Rufous Horneros, to tropical Amazonian lowlands by many species of Foliage-gleaners, to temperate barren Andean highlands inhabited by several species of Miners. There are even two species, the Seaside and the Surf Cinclodes,which are associated with rocky coasts.
Ovenbird, Seiurus aurocapillus, of family Parulidae is unrelated to birds in the ovenbird family, Furnariidae. For both cases, the name derives from the oven-like nests that are created.
Miners and Leaftossers
Genus Geositta
These miners of South America are unrelated to the miners of Australia. Their name refers to the tunnels they build for nests. 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.
Miner,_Campo Geositta poeciloptera Found: Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay
The Campo Miner has mainly gray-brown plumage; rufous wing patch.
Image by:
1) Claudio Timm 2) Hector_Bottai - Brazil
Miner,_Coastal Geositta peruviana Found; Peru
Image by: 1) Dominic Sherony 2) Richard Gibbons 3) Mark_Peck
Miner,_Common Geositta cunicularia Found: South America
The Common Miner has brown upperparts; dull rufous on wings that shows up in flight.
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Argentina 2, 3, 4) Cláudio Timm - Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil 5) Hector_Bottai - Brazil
Miner,_Creamy-rumped Geositta isabellina Found: Argentina, Chile
Image by: 1) Birding Chile 2) Andre_Vielma_Mansilla
Miner,_Dark-winged Geositta saxicolina Found: Peru
The Dark-winged Miner has dusky wings; pinkish buff face, breast, rump.
Image by: 1, 2) Opisska 3) Nick_Athanas
Miner,_Grayish Geositta maritima Found: Chile, Peru
The Grayish Miner has gray brown plumage.It is found in some of the most arid terrain of central to southern Peru and northern Chile.
Image by:
1) Orgbigny 2) altabpe00 - Peru
Miner,_Puna Geositta punensis Found: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru
Image by: 1) Richard Gibbons - Peru 2) Opisska - Argentina 3) Nick Athanas - Argentina
Miner,_Rufous-banded Geositta rufipennis Found: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile
The Rufous-banded Miner is a typical miner in appearance, this species is largely tan and gray with rusty patches in the flight feathers and tail. It is most easily detected by its song, a long, rich series of buzzy "jrrrt" notes.
Image by: 1) Julio Martinich 2) Nick Athanas - Argentina 3) Hector_Bottai - Argentina
Miner,_Short-billed Geositta antarctica Found: Chile, Argentina
The Short-billled Miner has brown upperparts; short bill; long wings.It is found on dry and sandy Patagonian steppe, and its center of distribution is the north section of Tierra del Fuego Island.
Image by: 1) Jose - Chile 2) Nick Athanas - Chile
Miner,_Slender-billed Geositta tenuirostris Found: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru
The Slender-billled Miner has brown upperparts; vivid rufous on wings that shows up in flight. It has the longest bill of thisgenus.
Image by: 1) Tor Egil Hogsas - Peru 2) Nick Athanas - Peru 3) Tor_Egil_Hogsas - Peru_from_side.jpg){kind=link}
Miner,_Thick-billed Geositta crassirostris Endemic to southern Peruvian Andes.
The Thick-billed Miner has dark gray-brown upperparts; pale buff underparts; short, thick, straight bill. It prefers dry, rocky areas with dsparse vegetation.
Image by: 1, 2) Tony_Castro
Genus Sclerurus
Members of this genus are commonly known as leaftossers or leafscrapers, and are found in Mexico, Central America and South America. They are close relatives of the miners (Geositta), which are essentially an open-country version of the leaftossers, being lighter in color and longer-legged.
Leaftosser, Black-tailed Sclerurus caudacutus Found: South America
The Black-tailed Leaftosser had dark brown upperparts, head; chestnut-brown rump; black tail; scaly white-brown throat; dark brown underparts.
Imalge by:
1) Krystle Angelica - Peru 2) Pinned
Leaftosser,_Gray-throated Sclerurus albigularis Found: Costa Rica, Panama, South America
Image by: 1) Don Faulkner - Costa Rica 2) Nick Athanas - Ecuador 3, 4) David_Rodriguez_Arias - Costa Rica
Leaftosser,_Rufous-breasted Sclerurus scansor Found: South America
Image by: 1, 2) Dario Sanches - Brazil 3) Nick Athanas - Brazil
Leaftosser, Scaly-throated Sclerurus guatemalensis Found: Mexico, Central America, Columbia, Ecuador
The Scaly-throated Leaftosser has dark brown upperparts, belly; tawny breast; whitish throat.
Image by:
1) John Gerrard Keulemans 2) Nick Athanas - Ecuador 3) Richard_Gibbons
Leaftosser, Short-billed Sclerurus rufigularis Found: South America
The Short-billed Leaftosser has mainly dark brown plumage; buffy-ochre throat; rufous breast.
Image by:
1) Castelnau 2) Don Faulkner
Leaftosser, Tawny-throated Sclerurus mexicanus Found: Mexico, Central America, northern South America
The Tawny-throated Leaftosser has chestnut-brown plumage; rufous tinge to head, breast, rump; dark eyes; blackish feet.
Image by: 1) Michael Woodruff - Ecuador 2) Marcel Holyoak - Brazil 3) Montejo Jorge - Mexico
