Habitat
Subtropical and tropical lowland dry shrubland, subtropical and tropical high altitude grassland and temperate grassland. From sea-level - 4,800 m.
Common Miner (Geositta cunicularia) [XC367142]
by Cristian Pinto from Albufera - Reserva Nacional El Yali, Chile (flight call)
Common Miner (Geositta cunicularia) [XC449946]
by Peter Boesman from Pali Aike road, San Gregorio region, XII regi\u00f3n, Chile (song)
Subspecies
Plumage characters suggest closest relationship is with Campo Miner (Geositta poeciloptera), Slender-billed Miner (Geositta tenuirostris) and Short-billed Miner (Geositta antarctica). Has been considered to form superspecies with Coastal Miner (Geositta peruviana), but this is unlikely. Vocal differences suggest that Andean subspecies may constitute a separate species from lowland nominate subspecies; deserticolor (with georgei) may represent another. Subspecies fissirostris possibly indistinguishable from nominate. Racial identity of population in western Argentina (Salta southern possibly to Mendoza) uncertain, presumed to be hellmayri. Distribution of subspecies in need of careful review.
The following 9 subspecies are recognised:
juninensis Taczanowski, 1884 - Andes of central Peru (Junín, Huancavelica).
titicacae Zimmer, JT, 1935 - Andes of southern Peru (Ayacucho to Puno), Bolivia (La Paz and Cochabamba to Potosí), northern Chile (Tarapacá) and north-western Argentina (Jujuy to Mendoza).
frobeni (Philippi & Landbeck, 1864) - Pacific slope of Andes in southern Peru (Arequipa to Tacna).
georgei Koepcke, 1965 - Coastal southern Peru (southern Ica, western Arequipa).
deserticolor Hellmayr, 1924 - Coastal southern Peru (Arequipa) south to northern Chile (northern Atacama).
fissirostris (Kittlitz, 1835) - Central Chile from coast to Andes (southern Atacama south to Llanquihué).
contrerasi Nores & Yzurieta, 1980 - West-central Argentina (Sierras Grandes, in Córdoba).
hellmayri Peters, JL, 1925 - Andes of central Chile (Malleco) and south-western Argentina (central Neuquén to north-western Chubut); presumably also this subspecies in western Argentina (Salta and Tucumán southern perhaps to Mendoza).
cunicularia (Vieillot, 1816) - Lowlands from eastern Argentina (southern from southern Córdoba and southern Corrientes), extreme south-eastern Brazil (south-eastern Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul), Uruguay and southern Chile (southern from Aisén) south to Tierra del Fuego.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet