Superciliated Wren
Cantorchilus superciliaris
This brown-and-white wren has an amazingly loud voice for its size. It inhabits dry forest and scrub in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. Note the barred wings and tail, white throat and face, and dark stripe behind the eye (which is inconspicuous on some birds). Usually stays inside dense tangles, where it can be especially hard to see during the rainy season after the vegetation leafs out. Gives a large variety of far-carrying songs and calls.
Identification
The superciliated wren is 14.5 cm (5.7 in) long. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a dark grayish brown crown, rufous-brown shoulders and back becoming redder on the rump. The tail is reddish brown with black bars. They have a prominent white supercilium, a dark brown stripe through the eye, and buffy-white cheeks. Their chin and throat are pale buffy white that darkens to the lower chest and the flanks are buffy gray. Juveniles are similar but a cooler brown in the uppersides. C. s. baroni has a more tawny lower back and rump.
Taxonomy
The superciliated wren has sometimes been treated as conspecific with the buff-breasted wren (C. leucotis) but they differ in vocalizations and ecology. It has two subspecies, the nominate C. s. superciliaris and C. s. baroni.
- Scientific name
- Cantorchilus superciliaris
- Authority
- (Lawrence, 1869)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Troglodytidae
- Genus
- Cantorchilus
Range and habitat
The nominate superciliated wren is found in western Ecuador from Manabí Province south to Guayas Province. C. s. baroni is found from southern Ecuador's El Oro and Loja Provinces south to the departments of Ancash and Lima in west central Peru. The species primarily inhabits dry woodland, scrub, and brushland though it is also found in more humid woodland. In elevation it mostly ranges from sea level to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) but can be found as high as 1,850 m (6,070 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The superciliated wren forages in vegetation on and near the ground, usually in pairs. Its primary food appears to be insects.<p>The superciliated wren's breeding period is not well known; at a minimum it includes January and February in Peru. Its nest is rather flimsy and shaped like a flask. Pairs build several nests but use only one for breeding; it is lined with soft material. Nests are typically placed 1.6 to 3.2 m (5.2 to 10.5 ft) above ground in a bush or tree. Two or three eggs are laid. Nests are frequently parasitized by shiny cowbirds (Molothrus bonariensis).<p>Both sexes of the superciliated wren are thought to sing "a series of short repeated phrases of 2 or 3 notes" with sometimes a trill added.
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Aquila rapax
A medium-large, highly variable eagle that can range in overall color from whitish or creamy dull rufous to grayish-brown, and rarely dark brown. It has a moderately long gape line that stops at the center of the eye and slit-shaped nostrils. Legs are short and heavily feathered, with baggy “trousers.” Juveniles are generally paler than adults, while older immatures can have a dark hood and pale body. Mostly a bird of plains and open scrub; rarely seen over water, and avoids forests. Overall not as heavy looking as the Steppe Eagle, and never has a rich brown color tone.
Blue-tailed Bee-eater
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Elegant, slender bird of open country, frequently seen in flight or perched on exposed snags or telephone wires. Adult green overall, with blue tail, thin black mask, and rufous throat; bright rufous underwings visible in flight. Juvenile similar but paler, with tannish throat and shorter tail, lacking the adult's elongated central tail feathers. Flying bird has distinctive shape, with broad, sharply pointed wings, long tail, and long bill. Nests colonially in sandbanks. Voice a sweet, clipped “cheer-it,” sometimes given in series.
Black Crake
Zapornia flavirostra
A small, pudgy, blackish waterbird with reddish eyes, a yellowish bill, and diagnostic pink-red legs. The immature is browner, with duller legs and bill. It scuttles along the edges of swamps and other water bodies, preferring reedbeds and emergent vegetation to forage on, sometimes quite boldly. Like most crakes, it walks tentatively with its head lowered, picking and probing for insects, plant matter, and other food. The distinctive call is an odd, wheezy bubbling and chattering “cheeew-t-t-t-t treeew, t-t-t-t-t-treew”.
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