The plain-tailed wren (''Pheugopedius euophrys'') is a species of

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 500 ...

in the family Troglodytidae. It has a mostly rufous body with a gray, black, and white striped head. It is found in the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

of southern

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

, and northern

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and 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 ...

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 fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

s. Plain-tailed wrens are so-called bamboo specialists and live almost exclusively in

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 ...

bamboo thickets. Like other wrens, its diet consists mainly of insects with some seeds and berries.

Taxonomy

The plain-tailed wren belongs to the order

Passeriformes A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...

and the family Troglodytidae. Although there are subtle differences in appearance between birds from the east and west slopes of the

, the two are not considered separate subspecies.

Description

Physical

The plain-tailed wren measures between 16 and 16.5 cm. The back, wings, and tail are rufous, with an olive cast on the back. The belly and other underparts are buffy-gray, and the head is gray with black and white stripes (superciliary, malar, and submalar stripes). The bill is gray and slightly decurved. The plain-tailed is large for a wren, but shows the characteristic short tail shared by the family. As the name suggests, it is unique among wrens because its tail lacks any barring. Plain-tailed wrens on the western slope of the

tend to have heavy black spotting on the breast, while eastern-slope birds show no such markings.

Vocalizations

The plain-tailed wren sings a rolling, repetitive song. Males and females and eve
groups of wrens
are known to join in duets. Two-part choruses usually take an ABCD form, where the male contributes the A and C phrases and the female sings during B and D. Group choruses are thought to be used in mutual territory defense to intimidate intruding individuals. Singing pairs of plain-tailed wrens take co-operation a stage further than human couples who finish off each other's sentences, research has shown. Males and females perform intimate duets in which they alternate syllables so quickly it sounds as if a single bird is singing. Scientists led by Dr Eric Fortune and Dr Melissa Coleman (Claremont College, Claremont CA, US) discovered that the brains of both birds process the entire duet, not just each bird's own contribution. The research, reported in the journa
Science
involved recording duets sung by wrens in the bamboo forests of Ecuador's Antisana volcano.

Distribution and habitat

The plain-tailed wren prefers

bamboo thickets in tropical moist montane forests. It also frequents recently disturbed areas such as fresh landslides, presumably because of the increase in

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

activity. It is most commonly found at elevations between 2200 and 3200 metres. It is found mainly in

, but its range extends into southern

and northern

. The plain-tailed wren is listed as a species of least concern. It is common within its range.

Behavior

Diet

The plain-tailed wren is mainly insectivorous, like most other wrens. Its diet can include seeds and berries, but these are not its primary food source. The bird is most often observed foraging on or near the ground in chusquea bamboo undergrowth, in search of invertebrates.

Breeding

Plain-tailed wrens are thought to use song duetting as a form of bonding and/or mate guarding. No other information regarding mating systems or nesting behavior was found.

References

* BirdLife International 2004.
Thryothorus euophrys

2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Downloaded on 27 July 2007. *Johnson, Tom. 2010. Plain-tailed Wren (Pheugopedius euophrys), Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; retrieved from Neotropical Birds Online: http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p_spp=532716 * *Ridgely, Robert S. & Greenfield, Paul J. (2001): The Birds of Ecuador: Field Guide. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York.

External links

*song audio: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/83163 {{Taxonbar, from=Q4752620

plain-tailed wren The plain-tailed wren (''Pheugopedius euophrys'') is a species of songbird in the family Troglodytidae. It has a mostly rufous body with a gray, black, and white striped head. It is found in the Andes of southern Colombia, Ecuador, and northern P ...

Birds of the Ecuadorian Andes

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot