Cobb's Wren
Troglodytes cobbi
Endemic to the Falkland Islands, where it is found in seashore areas and offshore islets, typically in association with tussac grass. Often forages on rocky beaches, picking at food items washed up by the tide. Somewhat similar House Wren has wandered to the Falklands before, but note present species’ gray-brown head and neck, lack of a prominent eyering, and longer darker bill. Can be tame and confiding, allowing close approach. Rattling song, somewhat similar to that of House Wren, can be given from an exposed perch or deep in cover. Calls include nasal mews and harsh, dry churrs and rattles.
Identification
The plumage is brown, greyer on the head and breast and more rufous on the tail. There are dark bars on the flight feathers and tail. The bill is long, blackish and slightly curved. The main confusion species is the grass wren which is smaller with a shorter bill, buff eyestripe and dark streaks on the back and head. Cobb's wrens have a number of buzzing calls and their song is a series of jumbled trills and whistles. The song can be heard from August to February and varies between individuals with different males having different song patterns.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Troglodytes cobbi
- Authority
- Chubb, C, 1909
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Troglodytidae
- Genus
- Troglodytes
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The birds typically inhabit dense stands of tussac grass near the coast. They are often found on beaches searching among kelp and debris to find small invertebrates such as insects and amphipods. They are tame and can often be approached closely. When disturbed they prefer to slip away like a mouse between boulders or tussac clumps rather than fly.<p>The nest is a ball of grass lined with feathers and tussac root fibres. It is built on or near the ground among tussac or in a rock crevice. The eggs are pinkish with small reddish spots, three or four are laid in a clutch. The eggs are laid from early October to December and two broods are probably raised during the breeding season.
Conservation
This wren is restricted to small rat-free islands with a population of only 4,500-8000 pairs (1997/1998 estimate). It is fragmented into small populations which could disappear if their islands were colonized by rats or cats. The birds' habit of feeding and breeding at ground level makes them very vulnerable to predation unlike the grass wren which lives higher up and can coexist with predators.<p>The plight of Cobb's wren was recently brought to broader attention by being featured as Canon's endangered species of the month for the February 2009 issue of National Geographic Magazine.<p>It has been reclassified as least concern in 2017 by the IUCN thanks to the control of invasive rats on nearby islands.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Jamaican Blackbird
Nesopsar nigerrimus
A species of higher elevation woodlands where it is often found feeding high in the trees, even near the forest canopy, rather unlike other blackbird species. Indeed, any blackbird found foraging within Jamaica’s upper elevation forests is very likely this species. Its plumage is all black, its tail is short, and the bill is moderately long and slim. The similar Shiny Cowbird has a shorter, stouter bill and a longer tail. The Greater Antillean Grackle is larger, longer-tailed, and has a pale (not dark) eye. The song is a wheezy “whee-whee-oooo” and variations thereof; common call is emphatic, squeaky “wheet.”
Dusky Warbler
Phylloscopus fuscatus
Small songbird, mud brown above, pale below, with pale tan supercilium (white only in the lores) and black eyeline. Smaller-billed than the similar Radde's Warbler, which has a predominantly white supercilium (tan only in the lores). Inhabits a wide range of areas with dense, low vegetation, from open forests to agricultural field edges. Forages low in undergrowth, but regularly pops out to investigate surroundings. Easily detected by its hard “tak” calls, given constantly as it moves around out of sight. Song is a bland, brief series of rapidly repeated phrases: “jijijijiji.”
Great Spotted Kiwi
Apteryx maxima
Large, light grayish brown kiwi with white horizontal banding or mottling along the length of the body. Restricted to the native forests, scrubland, and upland tussock grasslands of the northwestern South Island of New Zealand. More often heard than seen, including loud sniffling as it forages at night for invertebrates. Male produces a series of burry, rising high-pitched whistles. Female has a lower ascending burry whistle. Pairs often duet. Could be confused with Weka by voice and shape; look for the kiwi’s much longer bill and lack of tail, and listen for its multisyllabic call.
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