WRENS   -   TROGLODYTIDAE

House Wren Troglodytes aedon albicans Old Loja-Zamora Highway, Zamora-Chinchipe province, Ecuador. I know, it's just a lowly House Wren, but I really like this photo. (S5)

Mountain Wren Troglodytes solstitialis solstitialis Buenaventura reserve, El Oro province, Ecuador. A close relative of the House Wren found in Andean cloudforest. (S5)

Mountain Wren Troglodytes solstitialis auricularis Calilegua NP, Jujuy province, Argentina. This is the subspecies endemic to northern Argentina. It is browner and has a much whiter eyebrow than the nominate race shown in the previous photo. (S5)

Sedge Wren Cistothorus platensis aequatorialis Papallacta Pass, Pichincha province, Ecuador. There are around 20 subspecies of Sedge Wren, around half of which occur South America. Vocal differences are pretty different even between the South American taxa, and it seem likely that several distinct species are involved, though proving this will require a lot of research! Notice the two ticks on his head. (S6)

Sedge Wren Cistothorus platensis polyglottus Serra da Canastra NP, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. (S6)

Apolinar's Wren Cistothorus apolinari Parque La Florida, Bogotá, Colombia. A rare and endangered Colombian endemic found in dense reedbeds on the edge of highland lakes. As long as the reeds are left intact, it can survive a lot of disturbance. I photographed this bird only about one km from the end of the runway at Bogotá´s international airport. (D3)

Band-backed Wren Campylorhynchus zonatus costaricensis La Selva OTS, Heredia province, Costa Rica. A common bird from E Mexico to W Ecuador. Northern races have richer and more extensive rufous on the belly. (S6)

Gray-barred Wren Campylorhynchus megalopterus nelsoni La Cumbre, Oaxaca state, Mexico. Endemic to Mexico. (S5)

Giant Wren Campylorhynchus chiapensis North of Mapastepec, Chiapas state, Mexico. It is the world's largest wren (unless you count this one) at 22 cm (8.8 in). It has a very tiny range, inhabiting only a small strip of Pacific lowlands in the state of Chiapas in southeastern Mexico. (S5)

Giant Wren Campylorhynchus chiapensis Northeast of Mapastepec, Chiapas state, Mexico. (S5)

Giant Wren Campylorhynchus chiapensis Northeast of Mapastepec, Chiapas state, Mexico. A Giant Wren should have giant nest, right? (S5)

Rufous-naped Wren Campylorhynchus rufinucha capistratus Tárcoles, Puntarenas province, Costa Rica. There is quite a bit of racial variation in the species, as these three photos show. (S5)

Rufous-naped Wren Campylorhynchus rufinucha humilis Zipolite, Oaxaca state, Mexico. (S5)

Rufous-naped Wren Campylorhynchus rufinucha nigricaudatus Northeast of Mapastepec, Chiapas state, Mexico. This race is much darker overall with less patterning on the back. It's a bit like a small version of a Giant Wren C. chiapensis, which occurs together with it in Chiapas. (S5)

Boucard's Wren Campylorhynchus jocosus Monte Alban, Oaxaca state, Mexico. Another wren endemic to Mexico (I think there are 11). This one is found arid interior valleys of southern Mexico north (west) of the Isthmus. (S5)

Boucard's Wren Campylorhynchus jocosus Monte Alban, Oaxaca state, Mexico. Picking an insect out of one of those pods. (S5)

Fasciated Wren Campylorhynchus fasciatus pallescens El Empalme, Loja province, Ecuador. Strongly patterned and very noisy wrens found in dry areas of western Ecuador and western Peru. (S5)

Bicolored Wren Campylorhynchus griseus bicolor RNA Reinita Cielo Azul, Santander department, Colombia. A very bold and conspicuous wren found in Colombia and Venezuela. (S5)

Black-bellied Wren Pheugopedius fasciatoventris albigularis Parque Metropolitano, Panama City, Panama. They love dense, dark vine tangles. (S2f)

Plain-tailed Wren Pheugopedius euophrys euophrys Reserva Geobotánica Pululahua, Pichincha province, Ecuador. This wren in completely tied to Chusquea bamboo, and is never found away from it. Pairs sing amazingly loud duets that are sometimes so perfectly timed that it's hard to tell that two birds are singing. (S5)

Moustached Wren Pheugopedius genibarbis genibarbis Reserva Biológica de Saltinho, Pernambuco state, Brazil. A widespread species in tropical South America south of the Amazon, inhabiting both humid and dry forests. (S6)

Coraya Wren Pheugopedius coraya griseipectus Yasuní Research Station, Orellana province, Ecuador. A very loud rainforest wren, occurring mostly, but not entirely, north of the Amazon. (S6f)

Banded Wren Pheugopedius pleurostictus acaciarum North of Mapastepec, Chiapas state, Mexico. A common wren of drier habitat from Mexico to Costa Rica. (S5)

Rufous-and-white Wren Thryophilus rufalbus rufalbus(?) Unión Juárez, Chiapas state, Mexico. Found from southern Mexico to Venezuela, this wren has one of the most distinctive songs of any of the family. It is very soft and beautiful;  it "whispers" rather than "shouts" like so many other wrens do. Here is a link to the song of the same bird in this blurry photo. (S5)

Bay Wren Cantorchilus nigricapillus nigricapillus Buenaventura reserve, El Oro province, Ecuador In my opinion one of the most beautiful of all the wrens; usually they are very shy and skulking, but I was lucky to have this one come right out into the open in response to playback. (S5)

Superciliated Wren Cantorchilus superciliaris baroni El Empalme, Loja province, Ecuador. Endemic to the Tumbeisian region of western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. (S5)

Buff-breasted Wren Cantorchilus leucotis rufiventris Corrego dos Ovos, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, A widespread (but often local) wren of tropical South America, even reaching Panama. (S5f)

Fawn-breasted Wren Cantorchilus guarayanus Transpantanal Highway, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. Almost identical in plumage to Buff-breasted Wren, but they differ by voice. In the Pantanal, Fawn-breasted Wren seems to replace Buff-breasted Wren as you head south, but the situation there is complicated by ID difficulties. (S6)

Long-billed Wren Cantorchilus longirostris longirostris Reserva Ecologica de Guapi Assu, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. This is the only wren endemic to the Atlantic Forest region. It is also endemic to Brazil. (S5)

Long-billed Wren Cantorchilus longirostris bahiae Palmeiras, Bahia state, Brazil. The northern subspecies prefers drier habitats such as caatinga, and has a slightly different voice. (S6)

White-bellied Wren Uropsila leucogastra musica El Ocote Biosphere Reserve, Chiapas state, Mexico. A monotypic genus, found from Mexico to Belize. (S5)

Rufous Wren Cinnycerthia unirufa unibrunnea Reserva Geobotanica Pululahua, Pichincha province, Ecuador. (S5)

White-breasted Wood-Wren Henicorhina leucosticta prostheleuca Sierra de los Tuxtlas, Veracruz state, Mexico A common and widespread bird in neotropical rainforest, found from Mexico down through the Amazon basin. (S5f)

Gray-breasted Wood-Wren Henicorhina leucophrys anachoreta El Dorado reserve, Santa Marta mountains, Magdalena department, Colombia. One of the most common wrens in Neotropical mountains, but always tough to photograph due to the dark forest understory that they live in, and their usually skulking nature. Oddly enough, this one, which is currently by best shot, is of the most range-restricted race, found only in high elevation forests in the Santa Marta mountains. It has a slightly different voice, which leads me to suspect that some research could show that is better considered a distinct species. (S6)

Gray-breasted Wood-Wren Henicorhina leucophrys leucophrys(?) Tandayapa Bird Lodge, Pichincha province, Ecuador. (S4)

Sumichrast's Wren Hylorchilus sumichrasti 4 km southwest of La Joya de Santa María, Oaxaca This wren, together with Nava's Wren, which was split from it, is endemic to southern Mexico and restricted to areas of forest that have limestone outcrops. It is mostly terrestrial. Since it is found only in very dark understory and moves a lot, I found it very challenging to photograph. This shot isn't great, but under the circumstances I was pretty happy with it. (S5f)

Nava's Wren Hylorchilus navai El Ocote Biosphere Reserve, Chiapas state, Mexico. This species was split from Sumichrast's Wren H. sumichrasti. Scroll up to that photo for more info. Very hard to photograph in the dark and cluttered understory of the rainforest! (S5)

Song Wren Cyphorhinus phaeocephalus phaeocephalus Playa de Oro, Esmeraldas province, Ecuador. An odd name considering that virtually all wrens are better songsters than this one. This skulker inhabits the understory of wet rainforest from Honduras to southwestern Ecuador. (S5f)

Musician Wren Cyphorhinus arada salvini Yasuní Research Station, Orellana province, Ecuador. This rainforest floor skulker is named for its amazing song. I've included a sample below. The recording is not of this particular individual, but was recorded not too far away. (S6)

Black-capped Donacobius Donacobius atricapilla atricapilla Trans-Pantanal Highway, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. One of the most distinctive and chacacteristic birds of South American wetlands. Its taxonomic affinities are still greatly debated. Currently, the SACC places it in a monotypic family, but I haven't added the new gallery yet. (D2)		Black-capped Donacobius Donacobius atricapilla atricapilla Guaraunos, Sucre state, Venezuela. Same pose, different country. Pairs frequently sing and do tail-wagging displays while perched conspicuously in the open. (D3)