''Cinclodes'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

belonging to the ovenbird family Furnariidae. There are about a dozen

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

distributed across the southern and Andean regions of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. They are terrestrial birds of open habitats, typically found near water such as mountain streams or the seashore where they forage for small

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s. They are stocky birds with strong legs and feet and pointed, slightly downcurved bills. The

plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

is inconspicuous and mainly brown, often with a pale wingbar, stripe over the eye and corners to the tail. They have loud, trilling songs and often raise their wings while singing.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Cinclodes'' was introduced in 1840 by the English zoologist George Robert Gray. The name combines the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

''kinklos'', a word for an unknown waterside bird, with ''-oidēs'' meaning "resembling". In 1855 Gray specified the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

as the dark-bellied cinclodes, a species that had been described in 1889 by

Gmelin Gmelin may refer to: * Gmelin's test, a chemical test * Gmelin database, a German handbook/encyclopedia of inorganic compounds initiated by Leopold Gmelin People * Carl Christian Gmelin (1762–1837), German botanist, author of ''Flora Badensis ...

under the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''Motacilla patagonica''. The genus contains 15 species: * Stout-billed cinclodes, ''Cinclodes excelsior'' *

Royal cinclodes The royal cinclodes (''Cinclodes aricomae'') is a passerine bird which breeds in the Andes of south-east Peru and adjacent Bolivia. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the stout-billed cinclodes ''C. excelsior''. It is 20 cm lo ...

, ''Cinclodes aricomae'' *

Buff-winged cinclodes The buff-winged cinclodes (''Cinclodes fuscus'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina and eastern Chile; it winters in the Pampas. It was formerly considered the nominate subspecies of the bar-winged cinclod ...

, ''Cinclodes fuscus'' *

Chestnut-winged cinclodes The chestnut-winged cinclodes (''Cinclodes albidiventris'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the bar-winged cinclodes. Its natural ...

, ''Cinclodes albidiventris'' (split from ''Cinclodes fuscus'' in 2012) *

Cream-winged cinclodes The cream-winged cinclodes (''Cinclodes albiventris'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is found throughout the Puna grassland from northwestern Argentina north through the Andes of Peru. Its natural habitat In ecology ...

, ''Cinclodes albiventris'' (split from ''Cinclodes fuscus'' in 2012) * Cordoba cinclodes or Comechingones cinclodes, ''Cinclodes comechingonus'' *

Long-tailed cinclodes The long-tailed cinclodes (''Cinclodes pabsti'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Brazil. Its natural habitats are temperate grassland and pastureland. Rarer than previously believed, it is uplisted from a specie ...

, ''Cinclodes pabsti'' * Grey-flanked cinclodes, ''Cinclodes oustaleti'' *

Olrog's cinclodes Olrog's cinclodes (''Cinclodes olrogi'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Argentina. The species is named after Swedish-Argentine biologist Claes C. Olrog. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-alt ...

, ''Cinclodes olrogi'' * Dark-bellied cinclodes, ''Cinclodes patagonicus'' * Chilean seaside cinclodes or seaside cinclodes, ''Cinclodes nigrofumosus'' * Peruvian seaside cinclodes or surf cinclodes, ''Cinclodes taczanowskii'' *

Blackish cinclodes The blackish cinclodes (''Cinclodes antarcticus'') 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 ...

, ''Cinclodes antarcticus'' * White-winged cinclodes, ''Cinclodes atacamensis'' * White-bellied cinclodes, ''Cinclodes palliatus''

References

* Chesser, R. Terry (2004
Systematics, evolution and biogeography of the South American ovenbird genus ''Cinclodes''
''Auk'' 121 (3): 752-766 * Jaramillo, Alvaro; Burke, Peter & Beadle, David (2003) ''Field Guide to the Birds of Chile'', Christopher Helm, London Bird genera * Taxa named by George Robert Gray {{Furnariidae-stub