The Veracruz wren (''Campylorhynchus rufinucha'') is a

songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5,00 ...

of the family Troglodytidae. It is endemic to

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 ...

Taxonomy and systematics

What is now the Veracruz wren was previously treated as one of eight subspecies of rufous-naped wren (that carried the binomial ''Campylorhynchus rufinucha''). A 2009 publication proposed that ''Campylorhynchus rufinucha'' (''

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

'') be split into three species and the

International Ornithological Committee The International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) is an international organization for the promotion of ornithology. It links basic and applied research and nurtures education and outreach activities. Specifically, the IOU organizes and funds global co ...

(IOC) accepted the splits. Because the binomial ''C. rufinucha'' (''

sensu stricto ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...

'') had

scientific priority In science, priority is the credit given to the individual or group of individuals who first made the discovery or proposed the theory. Fame and honours usually go to the first person or group to publish a new finding, even if several researchers a ...

, it received the new English name Veracruz wren. What had been ''C. r. humilis'' was elevated to species status as Sclater's wren and the other six subspecies became subspecies of ''C. capistratus'', the rufous-backed wren.

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

(BLI) has implemented the split but retains the English name rufous-naped wren for ''C. rufinucha''. However, the North American Classification Committee of the

American Ornithological Society The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its ...

(NACC/AOS) and the

Clements taxonomy ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'' is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world. The most recent printed version is the sixth edition (2007), but has been updated yearly, the last version in 202 ...

have not accepted the split as of early 2021.Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 15, 2019

Description

The adult Veracruz wren has a blackish crown, lores, and eyestripe and a white

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 ...

. Its nape and back are chestnut and the shoulders have black and white streaks. Its tail is gray-brown with darker bars and a white tip. Its chin and throat are white, the chest pale buff with brown spots, and its belly a darker buff with faint blackish bars on the flanks. The juvenile is similar but its supercilium is buffy white, the back a duller cinnamon, and the markings on the back less distinct.Bradley, D. W. and D. J. Mennill (2020). Rufous-naped Wren (''Campylorhynchus rufinucha''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.runwre1.01 retrieved May 31, 2021

Distribution and habitat

The Veracruz wren is found primarily in central

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

state and very slightly into north-central

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

. It inhabits lowland dry tropical forest, primarily in arid and semi-arid areas. It also occurs in human-modified landscapes and coastal mangroves.

Behavior

Feeding

The Veracruz wren preys on a variety of insects.

Breeding

Little information is available on the Veracruz wren's breeding

phenology Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples include the date of emergence of leav ...

. It is known to build a globular nest with a side entrance like the other species in its genus.

Vocalization

An example of the Veracruz wren's song i

An example call i

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 Veracruz wren as being of Least Concern. "The population has not been quantified since the species was split" but "is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats."

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q49443410, from2=Q63911 Campylorhynchus Birds of Mexico Birds described in 1838