The rufous-browed wren (''Troglodytes rufociliatus'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Central America from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

south into

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The rufous-browed wren has been treated as

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organism ...

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 moun ...

(''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 k ...

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, 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 ...

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

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

and northern

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of 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 by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

. ''T. r. nannoides'' is limited to

Santa Ana Volcano The Santa Ana Volcano or Ilamatepec () is a large stratovolcano located in the Santa Ana department of El Salvador. At above sea level, it is the highest volcano in the country. It is located immediately west of Coatepeque Caldera. The vol ...

in western El Salvador. ''T. r. rehni'' is found in

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

and northwestern Nicaragua. The rufous-browed wren inhabits humid

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

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 a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another 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 epiphyt ...

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) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

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."