''Microcerculus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of birds in the wren family Troglodytidae that are endemic to

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

and tropical regions of South America. These are small wrens with very short tails, long legs and a long bill. They forage on or near the ground in humid forests. The genus was first mentioned in print by the English naturalist

Osbert Salvin Osbert Salvin FRS (25 February 1835 – 1 June 1898) was an English naturalist, ornithologist, and herpetologist best known for co-authoring ''Biologia Centrali-Americana'' (1879–1915) with Frederick DuCane Godman. This was a 52 volume encyc ...

in 1861. Salvin credits the zoologist

Philip Sclater Philip Lutley Sclater (4 November 1829 – 27 June 1913) was an England, English lawyer and zoologist. In zoology, he was an expert ornithologist, and identified the main zoogeographic regions of the world. He was Secretary of the Zoological ...

for coining the name but Sclater's book on American birds was not published until 1862. Some taxonomists credit Sclater for erecting the genus in 1862. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

was subsequently designated as the

wing-banded wren The wing-banded wren (''Microcerculus bambla'') is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Taxonomy and systematics The wing-banded wren was describ ...

(''Microcerculus bambla'') by the American naturalist

Spencer Baird Spencer Fullerton Baird (; February 3, 1823 – August 19, 1887) was an American naturalist, ornithologist, ichthyologist, herpetologist, and museum curator. Baird was the first curator to be named at the Smithsonian Institution. He eventually ...

in 1864. The genus name is a diminutive of the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

''mikros'' meaning "small" and ''kerkos'' meaning "tail". The genus contains the following species: *

Wing-banded wren The wing-banded wren (''Microcerculus bambla'') is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Taxonomy and systematics The wing-banded wren was describ ...

(''Microcerculus bambla'') *

Southern nightingale-wren The southern nightingale-wren (''Microcerculus marginatus''), also known as the scaly-breasted wren, is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.C ...

(''Microcerculus marginatus'') *

Northern nightingale-wren The northern nightingale-wren (''Microcerculus philomela''), or nightingale wren, is a species of passerine bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.Clements, J. F., T. S. ...

(''Microcerculus philomela'') *

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 ...

(''Microcerculus ustulatus'')

References

Troglodytidae Taxa named by Osbert Salvin Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Troglodytidae-stub