Slender-billed Miner (Geositta tenuirostris)

Identification & Behavior: ~17.5 cm (6.8 in). The Slender-billed Miner has gray upperparts with a broad pale supercilium and a long decurved bill. The underparts are brownish-gray with dusky scaling/streaking on the breast. The webbing on the wing and tail are rufous, which is readily seen when the bird is in flight. It forages on the ground. It is distinguished from the similar White-throated Earthcreeper and Buff-breasted Earthcreeper by a thinner bill and by having extensive rufous webbing on the wing and tail.

Status: The Slender-billed Miner is uncommon on the west slope of the Andes and the high Andes at elevations ranging between 1700-4600 m. It also occurs in Ec, Bo, and Ch.

Name in Spanish: Minero de Pico Largo.

Sub-species: Slender-billed Miner (Geositta tenuirostris), (Lafresnaye), 1836.

Meaning of Name: Geositta: Gr. geo= ground and genus Sitta, Linnaeus, 1758, nuthatch. One that looks like a (ground) nuthatch. tenuirostris: L. tenuis, tenue= slender and rostris, rostrum= billed, beak.

See more of the Family Furnariidae