Nava's Wren
Hylorchilus navai
Very local in humid evergreen forest of limestone (karst) lowlands and foothills in southernmost Veracruz and adjacent Chiapas; endemic. Stays on or near the ground, moving quickly over and among limestone boulders, popping in and out of caves and crevices. Like most wrens, heard more often than seen, but can be curious; sometimes appears at close range, bobbing and holding its tail cocked. Distinctive: rather chunky with a very long bill and a whitish bib.
Identification
Nava's wren is 16 cm (6.3 in) long; a female weighed 29.3 g (1.03 oz). The adults have a rich brown crown and upperparts and a tawny face. Their throat and upper chest are whitish that transitions to pale gray on the lower chest and gray-brown at the vent. The lower chest has faint scalloping and the flanks are sooty brown.
Taxonomy
Nava's wren was originally treated as a subspecies of Hylorchilus sumichrasti, which at that time was called slender-billed wren. After the split, the now-monotypic H. sumichrasti was renamed Sumichrast's wren. Nava's wren is also monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Hylorchilus navai
- Authority
- Crossin & Ely, 1973
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Troglodytidae
- Genus
- Hylorchilus
Range and habitat
Nava's wren occurs in a small area of southern Mexico, in southeastern Veracruz, western Chiapas, and barely into northeastern Oaxaca. It inhabits undisturbed forest with outcrops of Karst limestone between the elevations of 75 and 800 m (246 and 2,625 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Though no dietary data are available for Nava's wren, it probably feeds mostly or entirely on invertebrates. It forages on the ground, especially among rocks and on rock faces.<p>The breeding phenology of Nava's wren has not been documented.<p>The male Nava's wren sings "a varied, often stuttering warble of mellow whistles" [1]. The female's song is "an introductory note followed by rapid series of 8 or more loud whistles" [2]. The species' call is "a metallic 'tink'" [3].
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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