Ovenbird (family)

Ovenbirds or furnariids are a large family of small suboscine passerine birds found from Mexico and Central to southern South America. They form the family Furnariidae. This is a large family containing around 315 species and 70 genera. The ovenbird (''Seiurus aurocapilla''), which breeds in North America, is not a furnariid – rather it is a distantly related bird of the wood warbler family, Parulidae.

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.Remsen, J. V., Jr. 2003. Family Furnariidae (ovenbirds). Pages 162–357 in J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott and D. A. Christie eds. Handbook of the birds of the world, Vol. 8, broadbills to tapaculos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. The Spanish word for "oven" ''(horno)'' gives the horneros their name. Furnariid nests are always constructed with a cover, and up to six pale blue, greenish or white eggs are laid. The eggs hatch after 15 to 22 days, and the young fledge after a further 13 to 20 days.

They are small to medium-sized birds, ranging from 9 to 35 cm in length. While individual 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. Two species, the seaside and the surf cinclodes, are associated with rocky coasts.

Taxonomy and systematics

The woodcreepers (formerly Dendrocolaptidae) were merged into this family, following analysis of sequences. While confirming the overall phylogenetic pattern, other scientists instead opted for maintaining the woodcreepers as a separate family, while splitting the ovenbirds (as traditionally defined) into two families, Furnariidae and Scleruridae.

The systematics of the Dendrocolaptinae were reviewed by Raikow (1994) based on morphology and by Irestedt ''et al.'' (2004) based on analysis of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. Using the latter approach, the suspected major lineages of the Furnariinae (foliage-gleaners, spinetails, and true ovenbirds) were confirmed, but some new lineages were discovered and the relationships of several genera had to be revised.

The taxonomic arrangement presented below is based on recent studies of ovenbird relationships. However, because ovenbirds and woodcreepers are treated here as a single family some taxonomic ranks were modified. For more detail see "List of ovenbird species".

Subfamily: Sclerurinae – miners and leaftossers
* Genus ''Geositta'' – miners (11 species)
* Genus ''Sclerurus'' – leaftossers (7 species)

Subfamily: Dendrocolaptinae – woodcreepers
*Tribe: Sittasomini – "intermediate" woodcreepers
** Genus ''Dendrocincla'' – woodcreepers (6 species)
** Genus '' Deconychura'' – long-tailed woodcreeper
** Genus '' Sittasomus'' – olivaceous woodcreeper
** Genus '' Certhiasomus'' – spot-throated woodcreeper (genus introduced in 2010 for ''Deconychura stictolaema'')
*Tribe: Dendrocolaptini – "strong-billed" woodcreepers
** Genus '' Glyphorynchus'' – wedge-billed woodcreeper
** Genus '' Nasica'' – long-billed woodcreeper
** Genus '' Dendrexetastes'' – cinnamon-throated woodcreeper
** Genus ''Dendrocolaptes'' – woodcreepers (5 species)
** Genus '' Hylexetastes'' – woodcreepers (4 species)
** Genus ''Xiphocolaptes'' – woodcreepers (4 species)
** Genus '' Dendroplex'' – straight-billed woodcreepers (2 species, formerly in ''Xiphorhynchus'')
** Genus '' Xiphorhynchus'' – woodcreepers (14 species)
** Genus '' Lepidocolaptes'' – narrow-billed woodcreepers (11 species)
** Genus '' Drymornis'' – scimitar-billed woodcreeper
**Genus '' Drymotoxeres'' – greater scythebill
** Genus '' Campylorhamphus'' – scythebills (4 species)

Subfamily: Furnariinae – Neotropical ovenbirds and allies
* Genus: '' Xenops'' – xenops (3 species)
* Genus '' Berlepschia'' – point-tailed palmcreeper
* Tribe Pygarrhichini
** Genus '' Pygarrhichas'' – white-throated treerunner
** Genus '' Microxenops'' – rufous-tailed xenopsThe correct genus for former ''Xenops milleri''
** Genus ''Ochetorhynchus'' – earthcreepers (4 species formerly included in ''Upucerthia'')
* Tribe Furnariini – horneros and allies
** Genus '' Pseudocolaptes'' – tuftedcheeks (3 species)
** Genus '' Premnornis'' – rusty-winged barbtail
** Genus ''Tarphonomus'' – (genus introduced in 2007 for 2 species formerly included in ''Upucerthia'')
** Genus '' Geocerthia'' – striated earthcreeper (genus introduced in 2009 for ''U. serrrana'')
** Genus ''Upucerthia'' – earthcreepers (4 species)
** Genus '' Cinclodes'' – cinclodes (15 species)
** Genus '' Furnarius'' – horneros (8 species)
** Genus '' Lochmias'' – sharp-tailed streamcreeper
** Genus '' Phleocryptes'' – wren-like rushbird
** Genus '' Limnornis'' – curve-billed reedhaunter

* Tribe Philydorini – foliage-gleaners and allies
** Genus '' Megaxenops'' – great xenops
** Genus '' Anabazenops'' – foliage-gleaners (2 species)
** Genus '' Ancistrops'' – chestnut-winged hookbill
** Genus '' Cichlocolaptes'' – (2 species)
** Genus '' Heliobletus'' – sharp-billed treehunter
** Genus '' Philydor'' – foliage-gleaners (5 species)
** Genus '' Dendroma'' – foliage-gleaners (2 species)
** Genus '' Anabacerthia'' – foliage-gleaners (5 species)
** Genus '' Syndactyla'' – foliage-gleaners (8 species)
** Genus '' Clibanornis'' – (5 species)
** Genus '' Thripadectes'' – treehunters (7 species)
** Genus '' Automolus'' – foliage-gleaners (10 species)
* Tribe Synallaxini – spinetails and allies
** Genus '' Margarornis'' – treerunners (4 species)
** Genus '' Premnoplex'' – typical barbtails (2 species)
** Genus '' Aphrastura'' – rayaditos (3 species)
** Genus '' Hellmayrea'' – white-browed spinetail
** Genus '' Sylviorthorhynchus'' – (2 species)
** Genus '' Leptasthenura'' – tit-spinetails (9 species)
** Genus '' Phacellodomus'' – thornbirds (10 species)
** Genus '' Anumbius'' – firewood-gatherer
** Genus '' Coryphistera'' – lark-like brushrunner
** Genus '' Pseudoseisura'' – cacholotes (4 species)
** Genus '' Pseudasthenes'' – false canasteros
** Genus '' Spartonoica'' – bay-capped wren-spinetail
** Genus '' Asthenes'' – canasteros (30 species)
** Genus '' Certhiaxis'' – spinetails (2 species)
** Genus '' Mazaria'' – white-bellied spinetail
** Genus '' Schoeniophylax'' – chotoy spinetail
** Genus '' Synallaxis'' – spinetails (36 species)
** Genus '' Siptornis'' – spectacled prickletail
** Genus '' Metopothrix'' – orange-fronted plushcrown
** Genus '' Xenerpestes'' – graytails (2 species)
** Genus '' Acrobatornis'' – pink-legged graveteiro
** Genus '' Limnoctites'' – reedhaunters (2 species)
** Genus '' Thripophaga'' – softtails (5 species)
** Genus '' Cranioleuca'' – typical spinetails (19 species)
** Genus '' Roraimia'' – Roraiman barbtail

References

Further reading

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External links

Ovenbird videos
on the Internet Bird Collection
Ovenbird sounds
in the xeno-canto collection

(SACC)

{{Authority control

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Higher-level bird taxa restricted to the Neotropics