The hornero birds are members of the genus Furnarius in the family Furnariidae, native to South America. The English common name appears in many books as "ovenbird".Sclater, Philip Lutley: Argentine ornithology. A descriptive catalogue of the birds of the Argentine Republic 1888 https://archive.org/details/argentineornitho01sclarich/argentineornitho01sclarich/Gerald Durrell: The whispering land: 1962 : https://archive.org/details/whisperingland0000unse/
Horneros are brown birds with rather short tails and fairly long bills. They are known for building mud nests that resemble old wood-fired ovens (the Spanish word "hornero" comes from horno, meaning "oven"). These nests have a unique chambered construction. While many Furnariids have different nests, the hornero nest is the reason for the common name applied to the entire family; ovenbirds (they are unrelated to the parulid warbler called the ovenbird in the United States). The size and exact shape of the hornero nest varies depending on the species. They generally lay two to four eggs, although the breeding behavior of the bay hornero is virtually unknown.
Adult horneros can frequently be seen sitting on top of their nest. Except for the uncommon and relatively shy bay hornero, horneros are typically fairly common and highly conspicuous birds. They are generally noisy. All horneros are partially terrestrial, and commonly seen walking on the ground with a relatively upright posture.
Taxonomy The genus Furnarius was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot to accommodate a single species, the rufous hornero, which therefore becomes the type species. The genus name is from Latin furnarius meaning "baker" (from furnus meaning "oven").
The genus contains eight species:
Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution Furnarius figullus Band-tailed hornero Brazil Furnarius cinnamomeus Pacific hornero western Ecuador and northwestern Peru Furnarius longirostris Caribbean hornero northern Colombia and Venezuela Furnarius leucopus Pale-legged hornero northern South America Furnarius torridus Bay hornero upper Amazon and rios Huallaga, Ucayali, and Napo Furnarius minor Lesser hornero Amazon river and lower Napo, Huallaga,Madeira, Tapajós, Ji-Paraná Furnarius rufus Rufous hornero eastern South America Furnarius cristatus Crested hornero Gran Chaco
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