Common Miner

SCI Name:  Geositta cunicularia
Protonym:  Alauda cunicularia Nouv.Dict.Hist.Nat. 1 p.369
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Furnariidae / Geositta
Taxonomy Code:  commin1
Type Locality:  Environs of the Rio de la Plata and in the pampas of Buenos Aires.
Author:  Vieillot
Publish Year:  1816
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

GEOSITTA
(Furnariidae; † Common Miner G. cunicularia fissirostris) Gr. γεω- geō-  ground-, earth-  < γη gē  earth; genus Sitta Linnaeus, 1758, nuthatch; the terrestrial Common Miner was classified with the nuthatches, subfamily Sittinae, by Swainson 1837, because of its straight bill, short tail, and long hind-toe with a curved, lengthened claw; "GEOSITTA, Sw.  (fig. 283.)   Bill longer than the head, trigonal at the base, cylindrical beyond. Culmen rounded. The tip of the upper mandible entire, broader than high, and slightly bent over the lower. Wings long, pointed; the first quill nearly equal to the second and third, which are longest; tertials lengthened. Tail slightly forked. Feet slender. Anterior toes rather short; the lateral ones unequal, the claws small; hind toe as long as the middle toe, but shorter than the tarsus; the claw much lengthened, and slightly curved.  Chili.   G. anthoïdes.  Part 5. No. 129." (Swainson 1837 (Classif. Birds)); "129. GEOSITTA anthoïdes.  ...  Inhabits Chili." (Swainson 1837 (Anim. Menag.)); "Geositta SWAINSON, Classif. Birds, 2, p. 317, 1837— generic characters only; type by subs. desig. (SWAINSON, Anim. Menag., p. 323, Dec. 1837) Geositta anthoides SWAINSON = Alauda fissirostris KITTLITZ." (Hellmayr, 1925, Cat. Birds Americas, Pt. IV, 2); "Geositta Swainson, Classif. Bds., 2, 1837, p. 317, fig. 283.  Type, by monotypy, Geositta anthoides, Part 5, No. 129 = Alauda fissirostris Kittlitz." (Peters, 1951, VII, p. 58).  Fjeldså, Christidis & Ericson (eds.) 2020, treat this genus, together with Sclerurus, in the family Scleruridae.
Var. Geocitta.
Synon. Geobamon, Geobates.

cunicularia / cunicularius
L. cunicularius burrower, miner < cuniculus mine, underground passage, hole.
● ex “Alondra minera” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 148 (Geositta).

SUBSPECIES

Common Miner (Altiplano)
SCI Name: Geositta cunicularia [frobeni Group]
GEOSITTA
(Furnariidae; † Common Miner G. cunicularia fissirostris) Gr. γεω- geō-  ground-, earth-  < γη gē  earth; genus Sitta Linnaeus, 1758, nuthatch; the terrestrial Common Miner was classified with the nuthatches, subfamily Sittinae, by Swainson 1837, because of its straight bill, short tail, and long hind-toe with a curved, lengthened claw; "GEOSITTA, Sw.  (fig. 283.)   Bill longer than the head, trigonal at the base, cylindrical beyond. Culmen rounded. The tip of the upper mandible entire, broader than high, and slightly bent over the lower. Wings long, pointed; the first quill nearly equal to the second and third, which are longest; tertials lengthened. Tail slightly forked. Feet slender. Anterior toes rather short; the lateral ones unequal, the claws small; hind toe as long as the middle toe, but shorter than the tarsus; the claw much lengthened, and slightly curved.  Chili.   G. anthoïdes.  Part 5. No. 129." (Swainson 1837 (Classif. Birds)); "129. GEOSITTA anthoïdes.  ...  Inhabits Chili." (Swainson 1837 (Anim. Menag.)); "Geositta SWAINSON, Classif. Birds, 2, p. 317, 1837— generic characters only; type by subs. desig. (SWAINSON, Anim. Menag., p. 323, Dec. 1837) Geositta anthoides SWAINSON = Alauda fissirostris KITTLITZ." (Hellmayr, 1925, Cat. Birds Americas, Pt. IV, 2); "Geositta Swainson, Classif. Bds., 2, 1837, p. 317, fig. 283.  Type, by monotypy, Geositta anthoides, Part 5, No. 129 = Alauda fissirostris Kittlitz." (Peters, 1951, VII, p. 58).  Fjeldså, Christidis & Ericson (eds.) 2020, treat this genus, together with Sclerurus, in the family Scleruridae.
Var. Geocitta.
Synon. Geobamon, Geobates.

Common Miner (georgei)
SCI Name: Geositta cunicularia georgei
georgei
Prof. William Gordon George (1925-1992) US ornithologist (Michael Rieser and Martin Schneider in litt.) (subsp. Geositta cunicularia, syn. Peucedramus taeniatus).

Common Miner (Coastal Desert)
SCI Name: Geositta cunicularia deserticolor
deserticolor
L. desertus  desert, wilderness  < deserere  to abandon; color, coloris  colour.

Common Miner (Central Chile)
SCI Name: Geositta cunicularia fissirostris
fissirostris
L. fissus  split  < findere  to split; -rostris  -billed  < rostrum  beak.

Common Miner (Patagonian)
SCI Name: Geositta cunicularia [cunicularia Group]
GEOSITTA
(Furnariidae; † Common Miner G. cunicularia fissirostris) Gr. γεω- geō-  ground-, earth-  < γη gē  earth; genus Sitta Linnaeus, 1758, nuthatch; the terrestrial Common Miner was classified with the nuthatches, subfamily Sittinae, by Swainson 1837, because of its straight bill, short tail, and long hind-toe with a curved, lengthened claw; "GEOSITTA, Sw.  (fig. 283.)   Bill longer than the head, trigonal at the base, cylindrical beyond. Culmen rounded. The tip of the upper mandible entire, broader than high, and slightly bent over the lower. Wings long, pointed; the first quill nearly equal to the second and third, which are longest; tertials lengthened. Tail slightly forked. Feet slender. Anterior toes rather short; the lateral ones unequal, the claws small; hind toe as long as the middle toe, but shorter than the tarsus; the claw much lengthened, and slightly curved.  Chili.   G. anthoïdes.  Part 5. No. 129." (Swainson 1837 (Classif. Birds)); "129. GEOSITTA anthoïdes.  ...  Inhabits Chili." (Swainson 1837 (Anim. Menag.)); "Geositta SWAINSON, Classif. Birds, 2, p. 317, 1837— generic characters only; type by subs. desig. (SWAINSON, Anim. Menag., p. 323, Dec. 1837) Geositta anthoides SWAINSON = Alauda fissirostris KITTLITZ." (Hellmayr, 1925, Cat. Birds Americas, Pt. IV, 2); "Geositta Swainson, Classif. Bds., 2, 1837, p. 317, fig. 283.  Type, by monotypy, Geositta anthoides, Part 5, No. 129 = Alauda fissirostris Kittlitz." (Peters, 1951, VII, p. 58).  Fjeldså, Christidis & Ericson (eds.) 2020, treat this genus, together with Sclerurus, in the family Scleruridae.
Var. Geocitta.
Synon. Geobamon, Geobates.