Greyish miner

The greyish miner is monotypic.[2]

Reserva Nacionale de LaChay, Peru

The greyish miner is a smallish member of its genus. It is 12 to 15 cm (4.7 to 5.9 in) long and weighs about 16 to 17 g (0.56 to 0.60 oz). The sexes are alike. Adults have a pale gray-brown face with a faint creamy supercilium. Their upperparts are pale gray-brown. Their central tail feathers are also gray-brown. The rest are black with white outer webs on the outermost pair. Their wing coverts are gray-brown with wide sandy brown edges and their flight feathers are dusky brown. Their chin and throat are white and the rest of their underparts are creamy white with pinkish buff flanks. Their iris is brown and their short straight bill, legs, and feet are slate gray to black. Juveniles are similar to adults but overall buffier.[3]

The greyish miner is primarily a coastal bird though it does occasionally range somewhat inland on the coastal plain. It occurs in a fairly narrow band from at least Peru's Department of Ancash south to Chile's Atacama Region. Its habitat is described as "desolate" and is chacterized by extreme aridity; sand, gravel, and rock substrate; and an almost complete lack of vegetation. In elevation it is usually below 2,450 m (8,000 ft) and rarely to 3,500 m (11,500 ft) in Peru. In Chile it occurs between 500 and 2,800 m (1,600 and 9,200 ft).[3]

The IUCN has assessed the greyish miner as being of Least Concern. It has a fairly large range, and though its population size is not known it is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] Various authors describe its abundance as from uncommon to locally common. "Human activity probably has little direct effect on the Grayish Miner, which occupies desolate, arid regions with low human populations."[3]