Campo Miner
Geositta poeciloptera
Small terrestrial ovenbird with a short tail. Brownish overall, paler below, with a whitish eyebrow and speckled breast. In flight, exhibits a bright rusty pattern on the wings and tail. Found in grassland areas and in open savanna, preferring recently burned areas, where it typically forages in pairs, walking on the ground.
Identification
The campo miner is a small member of its genus. It is 11 to 12 cm (4.3 to 4.7 in) long and weighs 17 to 19 g (0.60 to 0.67 oz). The sexes are alike. It has a dull rufescent brown face with a buff supercilium. It is dull grayish brown from its crown to its rump; the crown has vague brown spots and its rump and uppertail coverts have a rufescent tinge. Its tail is short; its feathers are rufous with a blackish brown band near the end. Its wing coverts are dark brownish with paler edges. Its axillaries ("wing pits") are cinnamon. Its flight feathers are blackish with a wide chestnut-rufous band that shows in flight. Its throat is whitish, its upper breast dull buff with brown flecks, its lower breast and belly whitish, and its flanks and undertail coverts pale rufous. Its iris is brown, its shortish bill is dark horn or blackish with a pale horn or pinkish gray base to the mandible, and its legs and feet are pale brown to pale gray or even dull pinkish.
Taxonomy
The campo miner was originally placed alone in genus Geobates and has sometimes been treated there since, but genetic data place it firmly in Geositta. It is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Geositta poeciloptera
- Authority
- (Wied-Neuwied, M, 1830)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Furnariidae
- Genus
- Geositta
Range and habitat
The campo miner is found in south-central Brazil, in an area roughly bounded by the states of Mato Grosso, Bahia, and Paraná, and in northeastern Santa Cruz Department in Bolivia. There is also at least one record in Paraguay. It inhabits campo grasslands and cerrado, open landscapes with at most scattered trees. It favors recently burned areas, especially for breeding. In elevation it ranges between 500 and 1,250 m (1,600 and 4,100 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The campo miner is non-migratory, but makes local movements among areas of suitable habitat.<p>The campo miner forages singly or in pairs. It gleans food from the ground while hopping, not walking. Its diet is mostly arthropods; known items include Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Mantidae, and spiders.<p>The campo miner's breeding season has not been fully documented but includes at least September and October. The three known nests were in side chambers in armadillo burrows; the chambers were lined with dead grass and hair. The one clutch was of three eggs.<p>The campo miner's display flight song is a "high, level, hurried, rolling 'turruturrut---' " that lasts 15 to 20 seconds. Its flight call is "pit-pit".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Bare-crowned Antbird
Gymnocichla nudiceps
Scarce and rather shy antbird of evergreen forest, second growth thickets, and overgrown plantations in humid tropical lowlands. Usually in pairs, on or near the ground, where often accompanies army ant swarms to capture prey flushed by the ants. Male is black with white wingbars with bright blue naked skin on crown and around eyes. Female is rusty brown overall with bright blue naked eyering.
Streaked Xenops
Xenops rutilans
Small brown bird with large distribution from Costa Rica to Argentina. Rufous-brown overall with whitish eyebrow and a white stripe on the side of the face. Extensive streaking on crown and underparts separates from Plain Xenops. Compare with Slender-billed Xenops, which occurs primarily in lowland Amazonian forests where Streaked does not and is not as boldly streaked. Usually found singly or in pairs following a mixed-species flock. Occurs in mature forests and edges, from the understory to the canopy, but most often at middle levels. Can be found from the lowlands up to around 2,500 m.
Olivaceous Piculet
Picumnus olivaceus
Tiny woodpecker somewhat reminiscent of a nuthatch. Short, chisel-like bill and short tail. Plumage unremarkable, olive-brown above and paler below; note dark crown with small white spotting. Found in forested habitats, even around gardens and edges. Creeps around small branches and vines, often hanging upside-down. Sexes similar; males have orangey patch on crown.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.