Nightingale Wren
Microcerculus philomela
Small, dark brown wren of humid evergreen forest in tropical lowlands and foothills; most often detected by its distinctive song. Usually stays low, on or near the forest floor in shady understory, and is difficult to see well. Note the small size, long bill, overall plain plumage, and stubby tail.
Identification
The northern nightingale-wren is 10 to 11.5 cm (3.9 to 4.5 in) long; seven males weighed 17.4 to 21.5 g (0.61 to 0.76 oz) and four females 16.4 to 17.4 g (0.58 to 0.61 oz). Adults are almost entirely dark brown, but with a dark gray throat and breast. Black tips on feathers of both the upper- and undersides give a scalloped appearance. Juveniles are similar though the scaling on their upperparts is darker and that on the underparts is whitish to pale gray.
Taxonomy
The northern nightingale-wren forms a species pair with the southern nightingale-wren (Microcerculus marginatus) and was in the past considered conspecific with it. It is currently treated as a species in its own right by the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) and the Clements taxonomy, though under different English names. It is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Microcerculus philomela
- Authority
- (Salvin, 1861)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Troglodytidae
- Genus
- Microcerculus
Range and habitat
The northern nightingale-wren is found from Chiapas in Mexico through Guatemala, southern Belize, Honduras, and Nicaragua into northern Costa Rica. It mostly occurs along the Atlantic side but is found locally on the Pacific side in Chiapas and Costa Rica. In Mexico it ranges in elevation from near sea level to 1,400 m (4,600 ft), and in Costa Rica occasionally up to that level but more commonly only as high as 1,200 m (3,900 ft).<p>The northern nightingale-wren inhabits the interior of lowland tropical forest. It favors virgin evergreen forest and undisturbed cloud forest.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Striated Antbird
Drymophila devillei
Streaky long-tailed, slender antbird of bamboo forests. Black-and-white streaked, with an orange-red wash belly and lower back. Longer-tailed than similar warbling-antbirds. Found exclusively in spiny bamboo thickets, where it forages singly or in pairs in the crowns of the bamboo. Listen for its distinctive song, a series of grating notes accelerating into a rising series of whistles.
Brown Nunlet
Nonnula brunnea
Small puffbird found in in lowland rainforest east of the Andes in Ecuador, northern Peru, and southern Colombia. It has brown upperparts, buffy underparts, and a thin orange eye-ring. The bill is impressively large compared to the overall size of the bird, with long bristles at the base. It inhabits lower to middle levels of the forest, where it perches quietly before sallying out after prey. Typical song is a series of ten or more soft, mellow whistles.
White-quilled Bustard
Afrotis afraoides
The male is a striking, medium-sized, mostly dark bustard with a bold white cheek patch and a reddish bill. The female has a black belly and is elsewhere finely barred. In flight it has a conspicuous white window on both the upper and lower sides of the wing. Scattered individuals, sometimes associated in small groups, inhabit arid savanna and Karoo scrub. It singscalls a strident, ratcheting “kraak-kraak-kraak” which leads into a maniacal “raa-cha-ka-ka-ka....cha-ka-ka-ka” display as the male flies around 20–30 m above the ground, with legs dangling. In flight, Black Bustard’s lack of large white wing patches separates it from the similar White-quilled Bustard.
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