The rufous-browed wren (''Troglodytes rufociliatus'') is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Central America from Mexico south into Nicaragua.

Taxonomy and systematics

The rufous-browed wren has been treated as conspecific with the

mountain wren The mountain wren (''Troglodytes solstitialis'') is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in the Andes of northwestern Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and western Venezuela. Taxonomy and systematics The mount ...

(''Troglodytes solstitialis'') but DNA analysis supports that it is a species in its own right. It has four subspecies, the nominate ''Troglodytes rufociliatus rufociliatus'', ''T. r. chiapensis'', ''T. r. nannoides'', and ''T. r. rehni''.Kroodsma, D. E. and D. Brewer (2020). Rufous-browed Wren (''Troglodytes rufociliatus''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rubwre2.01

Description

The rufous-browed wren is long and weighs . The adults of both sexes of the nominate subspecies have a dark brown crown, back, and rump and a warm brown tail. Their back and tail have dark bars. They have a pale buff

supercilium The supercilium is a plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. It is a stripe which runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head.Dunn and Alderfer (2006), p. 10 Also ...

and darker brown cheeks. Their chin is buffy and their throat and chest yellowish buff that is darker on the sides. The lower belly and vent area are barred. Compared to the nominate, ''T. r. chiapensis'' is darker above with a rufous cast to the throat and a white belly, ''T. r. nannoides''s back is darker and the barring on the flanks heavier, and ''T. r. rehni'' is more reddish brown above and its throat more yellowish.

Distribution and habitat

''T. r. chiapensis'' is the most northerly of the rufous-browed wren subspecies; it is found in the mountains of

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

in southern Mexico. The nominate ''T. r. rufociliatus'' is found in central and southern

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

and northern

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

. ''T. r. nannoides'' is limited to Santa Ana Volcano in western El Salvador. ''T. r. rehni'' is found in

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

and northwestern Nicaragua. The rufous-browed wren inhabits humid montane forest of several types. In Guatemala it ranges in elevation from but has been found as low as in Nicaragua.

Behavior

Feeding

The rufous-browed wren usually forages in pairs, and usually near the ground in thick foliage but also in aerial

epiphyte An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

s. It has been recorded taking caterpillars but further details of its diet are lacking.

Breeding

The rufous-browed wren's nesting season appears to span from late April to early July. Three nests have been found, all of them in Guatemala. They were cups constructed of dry grass and pine needles. Two were in cavities in tree stumps and the third in a hole in the ground. The female alone incubated the eggs. Unusually for a wren, the male sometimes fed the female on the nest.

Vocalization

The rufous-browed wren's song is "a varied, scratchy warble running into tinkling trill" and its call "a loud nasal 'zhweet'".

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed the rufous-browed wren as being of Least Concern. Though it has a somewhat restricted range, it is "common in many areas where habitat sundisturbed."