Mountain Wren
Troglodytes solstitialis
A small, short-tailed wren found in montane forest from Venezuela to Argentina. Brown overall with brighter buffy underparts and obvious whitish or buffy eyebrow. Compare with House Wren, which has a much less prominent eyebrow, longer tail, and different habitat and habits. Mountain Wren can be found singly or in pairs, often moving with a mixed-species flock in the middle levels of forest. Mostly occurs from around 1,500-3,200m, but occasionally down to below 1,000m. Listen for its high-pitched tinkling song.
Identification
The mountain wren is 10.5 to 11.5 cm (4.1 to 4.5 in) long and has a mean weight of 11.8 g (0.42 oz). The adult of the nominate subspecies has a rufous brown forehead and crown, a less reddish brown nape, shoulders, back, and rump, and a rufous brown tail with narrow black bars. The folded wings also appear barred. It has a buffy brown supercilium with a darker brown line behind the eye and warm buff cheeks. The throat and chest are also warm buff, the belly a paler buff, the flanks buffy brown with darker bars, and the vent grayish, also with darker bars. The juvenile's supercilium and upperparts are less warm and its underparts dull gray brown with darker speckles.<p>Subspecies T. s. solitarius differs from the nominate with darker upperparts and cheeks, a paler throat, and less reddish flanks. T. s. macrourus is larger than the nominate and has a longer tail, and the middle of its breast is white. T. s. frater is similar to macrourus but has a whitish supercilium. T. s. auricularis is similar to frater but has a shorter tail and its upperparts are not as reddish.
Taxonomy
The mountain wren has at times been considered to include the Santa Marta wren (Troglodytes monticola), ochraceous wren (T. achraceus), rufous-browed wren (T. rufociliatus), and tepui wren (T. rufulus) as subspecies. The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (SACC/AOS) considers the five of them to be a superspecies. The mountain wren has five subspecies:
- Scientific name
- Troglodytes solstitialis
- Authority
- Sclater, PL, 1859
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Troglodytidae
- Genus
- Troglodytes
Range and habitat
The subspecies of mountain wren are found thus:<p>The mountain wren inhabits humid montane forest, cloud forest, and their edges up to tree line. It is also sometimes found in bamboo thickets. In elevation it mostly ranges between 1,700 and 3,500 m (5,600 and 11,500 ft) but is found as low as 700 m (2,300 ft) in Argentina.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The mountain wren usually forages in pairs or family groups and occasionally joins mixed species foraging flocks. It hunts mostly in low vegetation but also climbs into mossy trees. No analysis of its diet has been published.<p>The mountain wren breeds at almost any time of year in Colombia and Peru and at least between November and February in Bolivia. One of the few nests described was a bulky structure, open topped but with a side entrance, made of root fibers and lined with dry leaves. Clutches of two to five have been noted.<p>The mountain wren's song is quiet, "a series of high notes, 'treee-treeee-tititiki'". Its calls are repetitive "'dzz' or 'di-di'".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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