72 BIRDS OF TIERRA DEL FUEGO 



Family DENDROCOLAPTIDJ^. 



GEOSITTA CUNICULARIA (Vicillot) 



Alondra de la minera, Azara, Pdxaros, Paraguay y La Plata, ii, 



p. 13, 1805. 

 Alauda CUniCUlaria, Vieilht, Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., i, p. 3')9, isifi. 

 Certhilailda CUniCUlaria, B'OrUgny, Voy.Amer. Merid., Ois., p. 358, 



pi. xliii, 1835. 

 FurnariUS CUniCUlariUS, Gould and Darwin, Voy. " Beagle," Birds, 



p. 65, 1841. 

 GeOSitta CUnicularia, Sdater and Hudson, Argentine Orn., i, p. 165, 



1888; Durnford, Ibis, p. 178, 1877, p. 395, 1878; Sdater, Gat. Birds 



Brit. Mus., XV, p. 5, 1890. 



Habitat. — Uruguay, the Argentine Republic, and Chili, to Tierra del 

 Fuego. 



^, Sara Settlement, 18th Oct., 1904. 

 Iris — brown ; bill and legs — dark drab. 



The Common Miner was almost the only small land bird 

 T remarked on the bare grass flats at the head of Useless Bay 

 on landing there at the end of winter. 



It is very common in the open country of the lowlands, and 

 its name is most happily chosen. 



" Asi la llamo " — Alondra de la minera — says Azara, its 

 discoverer, " aludiendo a que excava agujeros en qualesquiera 

 barranquitas, y cria dentro sobre colchon de pajitas a la 

 profundidad de tres quartas, donde fabrica una oUita para el 

 nido. Yive a pares, y corre a pasos ligeramente por las sendas 

 y caminos, dexandose acercar mucho. En tiempo de amor se 

 persiguen los sexos, dando una especie de chillido agudo como 

 ri^ndose. No la he oido otro canto, ni s6 que se eleve. No 

 dilata mucho sus vuelos, ni se posa en alto." 



It is disappointing to find no account of it by D'Orbigny, for 

 his powers of observation and description could have been well 

 employed in describing a bird of such characteristic habits. 



Darwin contributes the folio winfj interesting note : — " This 



