Mountain Wren

Overview

The mountain wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae found in the Andes of northwestern Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and western Venezuela. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, being common or abundant in suitable habitat across much of its range.

Identification

• Length of 10.5 to 11.5 cm with a mean weight of 11.8 g.
• Rufous brown forehead and crown, buffy brown supercilium, and warm buff throat and chest.
• Barred rufous brown tail and folded wings, with buffy brown flanks featuring darker bars.
• Song described as a series of high notes, "treee-treeee-tititiki", and calls of repetitive "'dzz' or 'di-di'".

Habitat

The species inhabits humid montane forest, cloud forest, their edges up to the tree line, and sometimes bamboo thickets. It mostly ranges in elevation between 1,700 and 3,500 m, though it can be found as low as 700 m in Argentina. Subspecies are distributed across the Andes from northwestern Argentina to Colombia and western Venezuela.

Diet

The mountain wren forages in pairs, family groups, or occasionally mixed-species flocks, hunting mostly in low vegetation and climbing into mossy trees. No analysis of its specific diet has been published.

Did you know?

The mountain wren breeds at almost any time of year in Colombia and Peru, and between November and February in Bolivia. One of the few nests described is a bulky, open-topped structure with a side entrance, made of root fibers and lined with dry leaves.