Coastal Miner vs Rufous-banded Miner

Coastal Miner

Geositta peruviana

Small21 gShrubland

The coastal miner is a small member of its genus. It is 12 to 14.5 cm (4.7 to 5.7 in) long and weighs 16 to 19 g (0.56 to 0.67 oz). The sexes are alike. The nominate subspecies has pale brown upperparts with slightly paler uppertail coverts; the other two subspecies are a lighter pale sandy brown above. Their central pair of tail feathers are brown and sandy brown respectively. Voice: As of early 2023, xeno-canto had only three recordings of coastal miner vocalizations; the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library had seven. The species sings "an unmusical pjee-aww" during its display flight. It also makes "a squeaky cueet" call.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Zieger M · CC BY 4.0

Rufous-banded Miner

Geositta rufipennis

Small32 gGrassland

The rufous-banded miner is a medium to large member of its genus. It is 14 to 17 cm (5.5 to 6.7 in) long and weighs 25 to 54 g (0.88 to 1.9 oz). The sexes are alike. The nominate subspecies G. r. rufipennis has a brownish gray face with a pale supercilium and a dark gray-brown line behind the eye. It is dull sandy olive from its crown to its uppertail coverts. Its central tail feathers have dull tawny bases, grayish brown middles, a wide blackish band near the end, and dull tawny tips. The rest have progressively redder bases and smaller black bands to the outermost. Voice: The rufous-banded miner's song is "a fast series...of buzzy, trilled notes on the same pitch" that may include "bursts of faster notes". It is sung from a perch on a rock and during display flight.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: S. Rae from Scotland, UK · CC BY 2.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Coastal Miner and Rufous-banded Miner.