Sclerurus is a bird genus in the ovenbird family, Furnariidae. Members of this genus are commonly known as leaftossers or leafscrapers, and are found in Mexico, Central America and South America. They are close relatives of the miners (Geositta), which are essentially an open-country version of the leaftossers, being lighter in color and longer-legged. Other relatives might include the sharp-tailed streamcreeper of the monotypic genus Lochmias and some other Furnariidae of obscure relationships.

Taxonomy

The genus Sclerurus was introduced in 1827 by the English zoologist William Swainson. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek σκληρος/sklēros meaning "stiff" with ουρα/oura meaning "tail". Swainson did not specify a type species but in 1855 the English zoologist George Gray designated the type as Thamnophilus caudacutus Vieillot, 1816, the black-tailed leaftosser.

Species

The genus contains seven species:

References

External links