The rufous wren (''Cinnycerthia unirufa'') is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

is subtropical or tropical moist

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 ...

s. There are three subspecies: *''C. u. unirufa'' - northeastern Colombia and the extreme west of Venezuela *''C. u. unibrunnea'' - most of Colombia, Ecuador, and the extreme north of Peru *''C. u. chakei'' - the Perijá Mountains on the border of Colombia and Venezuela

Description

The rufous wren has a length of about . Birds in most of Colombia and in Ecuador are a uniform dark chestnut-brown colour with slight blackish barring on the wings and tail, though this is difficult to observe in the field. The lores are also blackish. Individuals in northeastern Colombia and in Venezuela are a slightly paler shade, especially on the crown. The rufous wren could be confused with the sepia-brown wren (''Cinnycerthia olivascens''), but that species is less rufous and has bolder barring on wings and tail. Another similar bird is the

rufous spinetail The rufous spinetail (''Synallaxis unirufa'') is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Taxonomy and systematics The rufous spinetail has thes ...

(''Synallaxis unirufa''), but that species has a longer tail, has no barring on wings and tail and is altogether different in voice and habits.

Distribution and habitat

The rufous wren is found in montane areas of northern Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and southwestern Venezuela at altitudes usually between . It occurs in dense undergrowth in tropical moist forests.

Behaviour

The rufous wren is usually found in groups of a few individuals often joining other species of birds in small flocks. It flits about in the undergrowth and is often to be seen in and around clumps of ''

Chusquea ''Chusquea'' is a genus of evergreen bamboos in the grass family. Most of them are native to mountain habitats in Latin America, from Mexico to southern Chile and Argentina. They are sometimes referred to as South American mountain bamboos. Unl ...

'' mountain bamboo. It has a complex and musical song consisting of repeated notes, trills and short phrases, and often sung in duets with other birds.

Status

The

International Union for Conservation of Nature 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 stat ...

has assessed the conservation status of the rufous wren as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

". This is because it has a very wide range and is said to be fairly common. It is possible that the population trend is downwards because of the destruction and fragmentation of its habitat, but it is thought not to be declining at such a rate as to justify putting it in a more threatened category.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2667972 rufous wren Birds of the Colombian Andes Birds of the Ecuadorian Andes rufous wren Taxonomy articles created by Polbot