''Geositta'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
of
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 th ...
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 lightweig ...
in the
ovenbird family, Furnariidae. They are known as miners (not to be confused with the unrelated miners, ''
Manorina'', of
Australia) due to the tunnels they dig for nesting. There are 11 species including the
campo miner (''Geositta poeciloptera'') which was formerly classified in a genus of its own, ''Geobates''. They inhabit open country in
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 souther ...
, particularly the
Andean
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S l ...
and
Patagonian regions. They are ground-dwelling birds, somewhat resembling the
lark
Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark oc ...
s and
wheatears of other continents. They are mostly drab brown in coloration and often have a fairly long and slender
bill.
Species list
The genus contains 11 species:
References
*Jaramillo, Alvaro; Burke, Peter & Beadle, David (2003) ''Field Guide to the Birds of Chile'', Christopher Helm, London
*South American Classification Committee (2007)
A classification of the bird species of South America, part 6'. Retrieved 08/06/07.
Bird genera
{{Furnariidae-stub