Bar-winged Wood-Wren
Henicorhina leucoptera
Well-named wren found only in stunted cloud forest in the eastern Andes of northern Peru and border regions of southeastern Ecuador. Small, with a short tail and a striped face. Very similar to Gray-breasted Wood-Wren, but has distinct wingbars and a richer, slightly lower-pitched song. Both species occur almost side-by-side at some locations. Usually encountered in pairs that hop and flit around in the forest understory.
Identification
The bar-winged wood wren is approximately 11 cm (4.3 in) long. The adult's crown is light gray-brown darkening to dusky brown on the upper back. Its lower back and rump are reddish brown. The tail is black with some fine dusky bars. Its folded wing shows two prominent white bars formed by the tips of the coverts. It has a wide white supercilium, a broken white eye ring, a black patch behind the eye, and a black and white streaked cheek. Its chin, throat, and upper breast are off-white mottled with pale gray. The center of the belly is white darkening to pale cinnamon on the lower belly and darker cinnamon in the vent area. The juvenile's underside is dark gray, brown, and cinnamon and it does not show wing bars.
Taxonomy
The bar-winged wood wren was originally thought to be closely related to the grey-breasted wood wren (Henicorhina leucophrys) but later DNA studies showed that it is more closely related to the white-breasted wood wren (H. leucosticta). It is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Henicorhina leucoptera
- Authority
- Fitzpatrick, Terborgh & Willard, 1977
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Troglodytidae
- Genus
- Henicorhina
Range and habitat
The bar-winged wood wren is found on the east slope of the Andes of southeastern Ecuador and northern Peru. It inhabits the understory of elfin forest, a biome found mostly on separate ridges with poor soils. In Ecuador it ranges in elevation between 1,700 and 1,950 m (5,580 and 6,400 ft) and in Peru between 1,350 and 2,600 m (4,430 and 8,530 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The bar-winged wood wren is known to be insectivorous but no other details of its diet have been published. It forages on and near the ground, making short flights and probing and gleaning vegetation for prey.<p>Virtually nothing is known about the bar-winged wood-wren's breeding phenology. A juvenile was collected in July.<p>The bar-winged wood wren's song is "a mellow, whistled warbling phrase", often sung as a duet by a pair. Its calls include "a dry tchut" and "a squeaky wink".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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