Jul 18

Bird of the day

Puna miner

Geositta punensis

The puna miner (Geositta punensis) is a passerine bird in the subfamily Sclerurinae, the leaftossers and miners, of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru.

The puna miner is a medium-size member of its genus. It is 13.5 to 14 cm (5.3 to 5.5 in) long and weighs 22 to 29 g (0.78 to 1.0 oz). The sexes are alike. It has a pale grayish brown face with a buffy whitish supercilium. It is pale sandy brown from its crown to its rump; its uppertail coverts are even paler. Its tail feathers have pale tawny rufous bases, dark brownish to blackish middles, and pale tawny rufous tips. The pale basal area is progressively larger from the innermost to the outer feathers and the outermost have almost entirely white outer webs. Its wing coverts and flight feathers are dark brownish with whitish buff tips; the flight feathers also have pale tawny rufous bases that show as a band in flight. Its throat, breast, and belly are pale buff-white with a pale tawny tinge on the flanks. Its iris is brown, its medium-length bill is blackish with a blue-gray base to the mandible, and its legs and feet are dark gray.

Aliases

Geositta punensis

Range

Range map of Red-winged wood rail