Short-billed Miner

About the Short-billed Miner

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. The short-billed miner is monotypic. Though it looks very similar to the widespread common miner (G. cunicularia), its closest relative is the creamy-rumped miner (G. isabellina).

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... Wikipedia →