Des Murs's Wiretail

Overview

Des Murs's wiretail (Sylviorthorhynchus desmurii) is a small passerine bird of southern South America belonging to the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is a monotypic species that was named by the French naturalist Claude Gay in 1845 to honour the ornithologist Marc Athanase Parfait Œillet des Murs.

Identification

• 24 cm long with a tail comprising only six narrow, filament-like feathers that make up about two-thirds of its length.
• Plain reddish-brown plumage on the upperparts, paler on the underparts, with a pale stripe above the eye.
• Small and rounded body with a very fine bill; weighs as little as 10 g.
• Fast, high-pitched song.

Habitat

Found in western Argentina from Santa Cruz Province north to San Juan, and in southern and central Chile from northern Magallanes to Valparaíso Region. It inhabits dense thickets of Chusquea bamboo in cool temperate rainforests, early-successional shrublands of shade-tolerant Myrtaceae, and dense weedy thickets. The bird occurs from sea level up to 1,200 m and forages only within the low-level shrub and bamboo layer.

Did you know?

This bird has the unique ability among all birds to curl its long tail into a ball when alarmed, and is so mouse-like that it can be easily mistaken for one when encountered. A clutch of four eggs can weigh more than the adult female.