The canyon wren (''Catherpes mexicanus'') is a small

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

n songbird of the

wren Wrens are a family, Troglodytidae, of small brown passerine birds. The family includes 96 species and is divided into 19 genera. All species are restricted to the New World except for the Eurasian wren that is widely distributed in the Old Worl ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Troglodytidae. It is resident throughout its range and is generally found in arid, rocky cliffs, outcrops, and canyons. It is a small bird that is hard to see on its rocky habitat; however, it can be heard throughout the canyons by its distinctive, loud song. It is currently in a

monotypic taxon In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of Genus, genera, the term ...

and is the only species in the genus ''Catherpes''.

Taxonomy

The taxonomy of the species has been altered and debated for many years, with from three to eleven subspecies being proposed at various times. Generally, three subspecies are recognized. Originally in the genus ''

Thryothorus The Carolina wren (''Thryothorus ludovicianus'') is a common species of wren that is a resident in the Eastern United States, the extreme south of Ontario, Canada, and the extreme northeast of Mexico. Severe winters restrict the northern limits ...

'', it was moved into the genus ''

Salpinctes The rock wren (''Salpinctes obsoletus'') is a small songbird of the wren family native to western North America, Mexico and Central America. It is the only species in the genus ''Salpinctes''. Description Measurements: * Length: 4.9-5.9 in ...

'' along with the rock wren ('' Salpinctes obsoletus''), where some researchers still place it; however, generally, now, the species is in the only species in the genus ''Catherpes''. The three generally recognized subspecies are: *''C. m. mexicanus'' occurring in the central and southern portions of the

Mexican Plateau The Central Mexican Plateau, also known as the Mexican Altiplano (), is a large arid-to-semiarid plateau that occupies much of northern and central Mexico. Averaging above sea level, it extends from the United States border in the north to the T ...

*''C. m. albifrons'' occurring in the northern portion of the Mexican Plateau, into west-central through western

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

*''C. m. conspersus'' occurring in the remaining portion of the range in the U.S. and Canada These subspecies are distinguished by the bill of ''C. m. albifrons'' which is generally longer than that of ''C. m. mexicanus'', and its plumage paler, with upperparts more grayish brown, with narrower black bars on tail. In ''C. m. conspersus'' the plumage is paler and it is smaller than ''C. m. mexicanus''.

Distribution

Resident, although individuals may make short seasonal movements. It ranges from southern

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in the

Okanagan Valley The Okanagan ( ), also called the Okanagan Valley and sometimes the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part of t ...

and western and southern

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

and southern

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

south through central

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

throughout much of

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south to western

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

. It occurs east to southwest

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

and in the

Edwards Plateau The Edwards Plateau is a geographic region forming the crossroads of Central, South and West Texas, United States. It is named in honor of Haden Edwards. It is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east; the Llano Uplift and the Lla ...

of west-central

. Disjunct populations occur in the Black Hills of southwest

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

, northeast Wyoming and southeast Montana. During the winter season the distribution is generally the same; however, concentrations may occur in the Chihuahuan Desert of southwest

Habitat

Similar to the rock wren in habitat, the canyon wren prefers steeper rocky environments, particularly in arid landscapes and deep canyons and terrain (sometimes including buildings, woodpiles, and rock fences). This species regularly uses riparian areas for foraging and has bred away from rocky substrate. Catherpes mexicanus2

Diet

The canyon wren feeds on small insects and spiders. Since they live on large rocks, they use their long beaks to scope out small crevices. They also get their source of liquid from the insects they consume.

Ecology

It feeds on

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s and

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

s by probing into crevices with its long

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

. Its coloration is rustier than that of the rock wren, with a contrasting white throat and breast. The canyon wren is more often heard than seen, and its falling series of whistles is one of the more familiar bird calls of the canyons of the western United States. CANW nest

It builds a cup

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...

out of twigs and other vegetation in a rock crevice. It lays 4 to 6

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

s, white with reddish brown and gray speckles.

References

Cited texts

* * * *

External links

Canyon Wren
at USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
Canyon Wren Species Account
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Canyon Wren
on the Internet Bird Collection

VIREO * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20111002034100/http://i.pbase.com/u43/tgrey/upload/27842001.CanyonWren4.jpg Photo-High Res--(Close-up)br>Article
- i.pbase.com-(Photos) {{Taxonbar, from=Q776497 Troglodytidae Birds of North America Native birds of the Western United States Birds of the Great Basin Birds of Mexico Fauna of the Sonoran Desert Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands Birds described in 1829 Taxa named by William Swainson