Tepui Wren
Troglodytes rufulus
Small, rufous-brown bird of tepui undergrowth. Readily identified by small size, rufous-brown plumage, buffy eyebrow, and (at close range) black barring on wings and tail. Occurs in mossy forest understory and stunted forest at middle and high elevations of the tepui region. Usually remains in dense cover and can be difficult to see, but it will sing from exposed perches. Found in pairs, which forage for insects on and near the ground and typically do not join mixed-species flocks. Song is a high, metallic pair of notes slurred together, the second note lower-pitched, repeated at length and sometimes extended into a tinkling, jumbled series. Calls are harsh scolds reminiscent of other wrens. Distinguished from Flutist Wren (only other wren in range) by strongly rufous coloration and buffy eyebrow.
Identification
The nominate subspecies of tepui wren is 11.5 to 12 cm (4.5 to 4.7 in) long and weighs 13 to 18 g (0.46 to 0.63 oz). The adult's crown and upperparts are chestnut brown that is slightly redder on the lower back and rump. Its tail is dark reddish brown with thin blackish bars. It has a yellowish buff supercilium and a dark brown streak behind the eye. The throat and breast are yellowish buff; the sides, flanks, and lower belly are reddish brown; and the vent area is buffy brown with dark brown bars. The juvenile is darker with scaly underparts. T. r. fulvigularis is darker and less reddish than the nominate. T. r. yavii has white underparts. T. r. duidae has whitish underparts and the bars on its tail are more pronounced. T. r. wetmorei is the most similar to the nominate, differing only by having gray central underparts. T. r. marahuacae is similar to wetmorei but is smaller and the entire belly is gray.
Taxonomy
The tepui wren has often been treated a subspecies of mountain wren (Troglodytes solstitialis). The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (SACC/AOS) considers those two, ochraceous wren (T. achraceus), rufous-browed wren (T. rufociliatus), and Santa Marta wren (T. monticola) to be a superspecies.<p>The tepui wren has six subspecies:
- Scientific name
- Troglodytes rufulus
- Authority
- Cabanis, 1849
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Troglodytidae
- Genus
- Troglodytes
Range and habitat
The subspecies of tepui wren are distributed thus:<p>The tepui wren inhabits humid forest, forest edges, and bushland on isolated flat-topped mountains called tepuis. In elevation it ranges from 1,000 to 2,800 m (3,300 to 9,200 ft) but is mostly found in the narrower band between 1,600 and 2,400 m (5,200 and 7,900 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The tepui wren primarily forages on the ground or in low vegetation. Its diet has not been documented.<p>No information about the tepui wren's breeding phenology has been published.<p>The tepui wren's song is "a series of high, thin whistled twitters" that may run together or be in separate phrases.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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