Black-bellied Wren
Pheugopedius fasciatoventris
This medium-sized wren is warm brown above with a bright white throat. This abruptly gives way to a black belly with thin white bars, which are difficult to see from a direct front view. Also note the thin white eyebrow. Sexes similar. Secretive, likes to stay hidden in tangles and thickets in forests, edges, or second growth; difficult to get a clear look at. Listen for low, liquid whistled song.
Identification
Male black-bellied wrens weigh 23.5 to 34.5 g (0.83 to 1.22 oz) and females 19.5 to 28.5 g (0.69 to 1.01 oz). Adults of all three subspecies have a rich chestnut back and tail; the latter has black bars. They have a white supercilium of varying size above a grayish face and are white on the chin, throat, and breast. All three have a black belly, but that of P. f. melanogaster is unmarked while those of the other two subspecies have thin white bars.
Taxonomy
The black-bellied wren has three subspecies, the nominate Pheugopedius fasciatoventris fasciatoventris, P. f. melanogaster, and P. f. albigularis.
- Scientific name
- Pheugopedius fasciatoventris
- Authority
- (Lafresnaye, 1845)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Troglodytidae
- Genus
- Pheugopedius
Range and habitat
P. f. melanogaster is the northernmost subspecies; it is found from the Gulf of Nicoya in western Costa Rica through western Panama to the Canal Zone. P. f. albigularis is found from the Canal Zone into Colombia's Chocó Department. The nominate P. f. fasciatoventris is found in northwestern and central Colombia east to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and south into the Cauca and Magdalena valleys. The species inhabits the interior and edges of primary and secondary forest and is often associated with streams.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The black-bellied wren forages mainly in the canopy and sub-canopy of both the forest interior and its edges. It also sometimes forages in the understory and on the ground, but always in dense cover. It preys on small arthropods but details are scant.<p>The black-bellied wren nests mostly in forest edges, usually near the ground in vine tangles. The nests are domed with a side entrance and constructed by both sexes of strips of palm and sugar cane leaves and lined with softer plant material. The clutch size is two. It appears that only the female incubates the eggs. The species' nests are heavily predated.<p>Both sexes of the black-bellied wren have large song repertoires; one male was recorded with 38 different songs and a female with 19. Multiple examples are available at Xeno-canto [1] and Cornell's Macaulay Library [2].
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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