Fasciated wren

Campylorhynchus fasciatus

Photo by Manolo Arribas (ASEDI)

Common name:
fasciated wren (en); garrincha-zebrada (pt); troglodyte fascié (fr); ratona franjeada (es); bindenzaunkönig (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformmes
Family Troglodytidae

Range:
This species in only found in western Ecuador and north-western Peru.

Size:
These birds are 19 cm long and weigh aroud 30 g.

Habitat:
The fasciated wren is mostly found in arid and semi-arid areas, including scrublands, dry tropical forests and forest edges, but also in orchards and plantations. In Ecuador they also use rainforests. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 2.600 m.

Diet:
They mainly feed on invertebrates, but also take some plant matter.

Breeding:
Fasciated wrens breed in May-August. They can breed in monogamous pair, or more often in co-operative groups with a dominant pair and up to 10 helpers, mostly young from previous years. The nest is a domed structure with side entrance, made with grass and lined with feathers, which is placed on a tree or tall cactus. They can also nest on old ovenbird mud nests. The female lays 4-7 eggs which are incubated for 17 days. There is no information regarding the length of the fledgling period.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a large breeding range and is described as common. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Black-capped donacobius

Donacobius atricapilla

Photo by Ralf Lukovic (Trek Nature)

Common name:
black-capped donacobius (en); japacanim (pt); donacobe à miroir (fr); angú (es); rohrspotter (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Troglodytidae

Range:
This species is found in northern South America, from Venezuela south to Bolivia, southern Brazil and north-eastern Argentina.

Size:
These birds are 23 cm long and weigh 24-30 g.

Habitat:
The black-capped donacobius is mostly found in inland wetlands, such as freshwater marshes, bogs, swamps, rivers, streams and oxbow lakes with tall dense aquatic or semi-aquatic vegetation, as well as in moist scrublands. They occur from sea level up to an altitude of 600 m.

Diet:
They feed on insects.

Breeding:
Black-capped donacobius are territorial and can breed cooperatively with the offspring from previous years helping the adults tend the eggs and chicks. The nest is a cup made of dry grasses and reeds, interwoven with spider webs and attached to tall grasses or reeds, usually near water. There the female lays 2-3 pale rust-coloured eggs, which are incubated for 16-18 days. The chicks fledge 16-18 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as common. The population trend is difficult to determine because of uncertainty over the impacts of habitat modification on population sizes.

Cactus wren

Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus

Photo by Mark Wagner (Wikipedia)

Common name:
cactus wren (en); carriça-dos cactos (pt); troglodyte des cactus (fr); ratona desértica (es); kaktuszaunkönig (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Troglodytidae

Range:
This species is found in south-western North America, from California and Nevada to Texas, in the United States, and south to central Mexico.

Size:
This large wren is 18-22 cm long and weighs 32-47 g.

Habitat:
The cactus wren in found in arid and semi-arid scrubland habitats, mostly dominated by succulent cacti, spiny trees and scrubs such as yucca, mesquite and saguaro. They are found from sea level up to an altitude of 2.200 m.

Diet:
They mainly feed on insects, including ants, beetles, grasshoppers, and wasps. They also eat seeds, fruits, small reptiles and frogs.

Breeding:
Cactus wrens breed in February-June. The nest is a large spherical structure made of dry grasses, often lined with feathers. It is placed in thorny trees and scrubs, particularly cholla cacti. There the female lays 3-5 buff-pinkish eggs with brown speckles, which she incubates alone for about 16 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 19-23 days after hatching. Each pair may raise up to 3 clutches per year.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as common to abundant. The population has undergone a small decline over the last 4 decades in the United States, which represents less than 50% of the population.

succulent cacti and spiny trees and shrubs

Carolina wren

Thryothorus ludovicianus

(Photo from Free Desktop Backgrounds)

Common name:
Carolina wren (en); carriça-da-Carolina (pt); troglodyte de Caroline (fr); ratona carolinense (es); Carolinazaunkönig (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Troglodytidae


Range:
These birds are found throughout the eastern United States, in southern Ontario, Canada, in north-eastern Mexico, Belize and Guatemala.


Size:
The Carolina wren is 12-14 cm long and weigh 18-22 g.


Habitat:
These birds are mostly found in dry forest, but also in moist forests, brushy clear-cuts, dense scrublands, wooded swamps and wooded riparian areas. They occur from sea level up to an altitude of 2.200 m.


Diet:
They mostly eat spiders and insects, such as caterpillars, moths, stick bugs, leafhoppers, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, and cockroaches. They are also known to take small lizards, frogs or snakes and plant matter, such as fruit pulp and seeds from bayberry, sweetgum, or poison ivy.


Breeding:
Carolina wrens breed in March-October. Male and female build the nest together, a bulky cup or dome, made bark strips, dried grasses, dead leaves, pine needles, hair, feathers, straw, shed snakeskin, paper, plastic, or string. It may be placed in a wide variety of natural and artificial sites, including upturned roots, tree stumps, vine tangles, conifer branches, overhangs, abandoned woodpecker holes, boxes, tin cans, old shoes, mailboxes, old articles of clothing and furniture, window sills and coffee pots. The female lays 3-7 white or pinkish white eggs with rusty spots, which she incubates alone for 12-16 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 12-14 days after hatching, but only become fully independent 4 weeks later.


Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and a global population of 17 million individuals. The population has undergone a large increase of 16,8% per decade over the last 4 decades.

Winter wren

Troglodytes troglodytes

Photo by Fabio Giarrizzo (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:
winter wren (en); carriça (pt); troglodyte mignon (fr); chochín (es); zaunkönig (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Troglodytidae


Range:
These birds are widely distributed in Europe, North Africa, Asia and North America, being found across Europe, including Iceland and the British Isles, into Russia, the Middle East and southern Asia, and through the Aleutian islands into Alaska, Canada and south along the eastern and western coasts of the United States down to Mexico.


Size:
The winter wren is 8-12 cm long and has a wingspan of 12-16 cm. They weigh 8-12 g.


Habitat:
They are found in a wide range of habitats, including coniferous and deciduous forests, riparian vegetation, scrubland, farmland, moorland, heaths, and urban parks and gardens. These birds have beed recorded from sea level up to an altitude of 4.600 m.


Diet:
Winter wrens are insectivorous, taking various insects and their larvae, but also spiders, millipedes and sometimes snails.


Breeding:
These birds breed in March-June. They build a dome-shaped nest in a hole or crevice, using grasses, moss, lichens and roots, and line it with feathers. The female lays 1-9 white eggs with reddish-brown eggs, which she incubates alone for 16 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 14-19 days after hatching, but will continue to receive food from the parents for another 2-3 weeks.


Conservation:
IUCN status - LC
The winter wren has an extremely large breeding range and a global population estimated at 200-1.000 million individuals. The population trend is difficult to determine because of uncertainty over the impacts of habitat modification on population sizes, but in Europe and North america populations seem to have undergone a moderate increase.