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, typically found near water such as mountain streams or the seashore where they forage for small invertebrates. They are stocky birds with strong legs and feet and pointed, slightly downcurved bills. The plumage is inconspicuous and mainly brown, often with a pale wingbar, stripe over the eye and corners to the tail. They have loud, trilling songs and often raise their wings while singing.
Taxonomy The genus Cinclodes was introduced in 1840 by the English zoologist George Robert Gray. The name combines the Ancient Greek kinklos, a word for an unknown waterside bird, with -oidēs meaning "resembling". In 1855 Gray specified the type species as the dark-bellied cinclodes, a species that had been described in 1889 by Gmelin under the binomial name Motacilla patagonica.
The genus contains 15 extant species:
Image Common name Scientific name Distribution Long-tailed cinclodes Cinclodes pabsti southern Atlantic Forest and Espinhaço Mountains Blackish cinclodes Cinclodes antarcticus Falkland Islands and Tierra del Fuego Buff-winged cinclodes Cinclodes fuscus southern Cone Cordoba cinclodes Cinclodes comechingonus Sierras de Córdoba Chestnut-winged cinclodes Cinclodes albidiventris northern Andes Cream-winged cinclodes Cinclodes albiventris puna grassland Olrog's cinclodes Cinclodes olrogi Sierras de Córdoba Grey-flanked cinclodes Cinclodes oustaleti Chile Stout-billed cinclodes Cinclodes excelsior northern Andes Royal cinclodes Cinclodes aricomae southern Peru and western Bolivia White-bellied cinclodes Cinclodes palliatus central Peru White-winged cinclodes Cinclodes atacamensis puna grassland and Sierras de Córdoba Dark-bellied cinclodes Cinclodes patagonicus Chile Peruvian seaside cinclodes Cinclodes taczanowskii coastal Peru Chilean seaside cinclodes Cinclodes nigrofumosus coastal Chile
In addition, a fossil species, Cinclodes major, has been described for the Pleistocene from Argentina.
References
Further reading Chesser, R. Terry (2004) Systematics, evolution and biogeography of the South American ovenbird genus Cinclodes, Auk 121 (3): 752-766 Jaramillo, Alvaro; Burke, Peter & Beadle, David (2003) Field Guide to the Birds of Chile, Christopher Helm, London