Ovenbirds or furnariids are a large family of small

suboscine The Tyranni (suboscines) are a suborder of passerine birds that includes more than 1,000 species, the large majority of which are South American. It is named after the type genus '' Tyrannus''. These have a different anatomy of the syrinx mus ...

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 found from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and Central to southern

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 sout ...

. They form the family Furnariidae. This is a large family containing around 315

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 ...

and 70 genera. The

ovenbird The ovenbird (''Seiurus aurocapilla'') is a small songbird of the New World warbler family (Parulidae). This migratory bird breeds in eastern North America and winters in Central America, many Caribbean islands, Florida and northern Venezuela. ...

(''Seiurus aurocapilla''), which breeds in North America, is not a furnariid – rather it is a distantly related bird of the

wood warbler The wood warbler (''Phylloscopus sibilatrix'') is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe, and just into the extreme west of Asian Russia in the southern Ural Mountains. This warbler is stro ...

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

hornero The hornero birds are members of the genus ''Furnarius'' in the family Furnariidae, native to South America. Horneros are brown birds with rather short tails and fairly long bills. They are known for building mud nests that resemble old wood- ...

s, 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 Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

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 Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

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 The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

habitat, ranging from city parks inhabited by rufous horneros, to tropical Amazonian lowlands by many species of foliage-gleaners, to temperate barren

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 ...

highlands inhabited by several species of

miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

. Two species, the seaside and the

surf cinclodes The Peruvian seaside cinclodes or surf cinclodes (''Cinclodes taczanowskii'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is endemic to rocky shorelines in Peru. It is often considered a subspecies In biological classification, sub ...

, are associated with rocky coasts.

Taxonomy and systematics

The

woodcreeper The woodcreepers (Dendrocolaptinae) comprise a subfamily of suboscine passerine birds endemic to the Neotropics. They have traditionally been considered a distinct family Dendrocolaptidae, but most authorities now place them as a subfamily of th ...

s (formerly Dendrocolaptidae) were merged into this family, following analysis of

sequences In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called t ...

. While confirming the overall

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

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 rank In biological classification, taxonomic rank is the relative level of a group of organisms (a taxon) in an ancestral or hereditary hierarchy. A common system consists of species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom, domain. While ...

s were modified. For more detail see "

List of ovenbird species Ovenbirds is the common name for the avian family Furnariidae, though none of its members bear that name. The common name derives from the horneros, which itself derives from the Spanish word for oven, ''horno'', used to describe the shape of t ...

". Subfamily: Sclerurinae – miners and leaftossers * Genus ''

Geositta ''Geositta'' is a genus of passerine birds 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 i ...

'' – miners (11 species) * Genus '' Sclerurus'' – leaftossers (7 species) Subfamily: Dendrocolaptinae –

s *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 ''Dendrocolaptes'' is a genus of Neotropical birds in the Dendrocolaptinae subfamily. The genus was introduced by the French naturalist Johann Hermann in 1804. The type species was subsequently designated as the Amazonian barred woodcreeper (' ...

'' – woodcreepers (5 species) ** Genus ''

Hylexetastes ''Hylexetastes'' is a genus of birds in the Dendrocolaptinae The woodcreepers (Dendrocolaptinae) comprise a subfamily of suboscine passerine birds endemic to the Neotropics. They have traditionally been considered a distinct family Dendrocola ...

'' – 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'' is a genus in the bird family Furnariidae, the ovenbirds. The genus comprises three species of xenops, all of which are found in Mexico, Central America and South America, particularly in tropical rain forests. They are small birds wi ...

'' – 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 –

s 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'' is a genus of passerine birds belonging to the ovenbird family Furnariidae. There are about a dozen species distributed across the southern and Andean regions of South America. They are terrestrial birds of open habitats, typical ...

'' – cinclodes (15 species) ** Genus '' Furnarius'' – horneros (8 species) ** Genus '' Lochmias'' – sharp-tailed streamcreeper ** Genus '' Phleocryptes'' – wren-like rushbird ** Genus ''

Limnornis The curve-billed reedhaunter (''Limnornis curvirostris'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is found in marshy areas of north-eastern Argentina, south-eastern Brazil, and Uruguay. It occupies a similar ecological niche to some A ...

'' – curve-billed reedhaunter Furnarius nest

* Tribe Philydorini – foliage-gleaners and allies ** Genus ''

Megaxenops The great xenops (''Megaxenops parnaguae'') is a furnariid bird, which is endemism, endemic to the Caatinga region of north-eastern Brazil. It is monotypic within the genus ''Megaxenops''. Its name refers to the superficial similarities to the " ...

'' – 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 ''Phacellodomus'' is the genus of thornbirds, birds in the family Furnariidae. They are found in woodland, shrubland and grassland, often near water, in South America. Taxonomy The genus ''Phacellodomus'' was introduced in 1853 by the German na ...

'' – 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 and thistletails are small passerine birds of South America belonging to the genus ''Asthenes''. The name "canastero" comes from Spanish and means "basket-maker", referring to the large, domed nests these species make of sticks or gra ...

'' – canasteros (30 species) ** Genus ''

Certhiaxis ''Certhiaxis'' is a genus of bird 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-chambe ...

'' – spinetails (2 species) ** Genus '' Mazaria'' – white-bellied spinetail ** Genus '' Schoeniophylax'' – chotoy spinetail ** Genus ''

Synallaxis ''Synallaxis'' is a genus of birds in the ovenbird family, Furnariidae. It is one of the most diverse genera in the family and is composed of small birds that inhabit dense undergrowth across tropical and subtropical habitats in the Neotropical ...

'' – spinetails (36 species) ** Genus '' Siptornis'' – spectacled prickletail ** Genus '' Metopothrix'' – orange-fronted plushcrown ** Genus '' Xenerpestes'' – graytails (2 species) ** Genus '' Acrobatornis'' – pink-legged graveteiro ** Genus ''

Limnoctites ''Limnoctites'' is the genus of reedhaunters, birds in the family Furnariidae. It contains the following species: * Straight-billed reedhaunter, ''Limnoctites rectirostris'' * Sulphur-bearded reedhaunter The sulphur-bearded reedhaunter (''Li ...

'' – reedhaunters (2 species) ** Genus ''

Thripophaga ''Thripophaga'' is a genus of birds that popularly are known as softtails. They are members of the ovenbird family, Furnariidae. They are found in wooded and shrubby habitats, sometimes near water, in South America. Taxonomy and systematics So ...

'' – softtails (5 species) ** Genus ''

Cranioleuca The typical spinetails, ''Cranioleuca'', are a genus of Neotropical birds in the ovenbird family Furnariidae. This is a homogeneous group of small birds that live in forested habitats. The spinetails in this genus differ from those placed in ' ...

'' – typical spinetails (19 species) ** Genus '' Roraimia'' – Roraiman barbtail

References

External links

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

(SACC) {{Authority control * Higher-level bird taxa restricted to the Neotropics

Taxonomy and systematics

References

Further reading

External links