The flutist wren (''Microcerculus ustulatus'') is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is restricted to humid highland forest in the Tepui region of northern Brazil,

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, and Venezuela.

Taxonomy and systematics

The flutist wren has four subspecies, the nominate ''Microcerculus ustulatus ustulatus'', ''M. u. duidae'', ''M. u. lunatipectus'', and ''M. u. obscurus''.

Description

The flutist wren is approximately long and weighs approximately . The nominate adult is generally chocolate brown, somewhat darker on the lower belly and vent area. The crown has faint scalloping, the lower back, rump, and chest have a reddish tinge, the chin is a paler brown. The chest also has a scaly appearance. The juvenile is similar but has obscure dark barring on its underside. ''M. u. duidae'' is overall paler and less rufous than the nominate. ''M. u. lunatipectus''s underside has the heaviest and most extensive scaling of all the subspecies. ''M. u. obscurus'' has a darker upperside and a redder underside than the nominate.Kroodsma, D. E. and D. Brewer (2020). Flutist Wren (''Microcerculus ustulatus''), 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.fluwre1.01 retrieved July 18, 2021

Distribution and habitat

The nominate ''M. u. ustulatus'' flutist wren is found in western Guyana, southeastern Venezuela, and the immediately adjoining part of northern Brazil. ''M. u. duidae'' is found in Amazonas and western Bolívar states of Venezuela. ''M. u. lunatipectus'' is found in central Bolívar state and ''M. u. obscurus'' in eastern Bolívar state. The flutist wren is a bird of mountains, inhabiting dense humid subtropical montane forest, including the flat tops of some tepuis. In elevation it ranges from .

Behavior

Feeding

The flutist wren usually forages on the forest floor, but sometimes also a little above it. Its diet is known to be arthropods but no details have been published.

Breeding

No information has been published about the flutist wren's breeding

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

Vocalization

The flutist wren's primary song is "a superb glissando which, after a couple of introductory notes, gradually and slowly slides up the scale". It has a similar alternate song, "but with notes more clipped and gradually dropping in pitch."

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 flutist wren as being of Least Concern. Though it has a restricted range, it is rather common, and much of its range has no human inhabitants.

References

flutist wren The flutist wren (''Microcerculus ustulatus'') is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is restricted to humid highland forest in the Tepui region of northern Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bo ...

Birds of Venezuela

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Birds of the Tepuis {{Troglodytidae-stub