Sumichrast's wren (''Hylorchilus sumichrasti''), also known as the slender-billed wren, is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family Troglodytidae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Taxonomy and systematics

Sumichrast's wren is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

. A former subspecies, ''Hylorchilus sumichrasti navai'' was elevated to species status as

Nava's wren Nava's wren (''Hylorchilus navai'') is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is endemic to Mexico. Taxonomy and systematics Nava's wren was originally treated as a subspecies of ''Hylorchilus sumichrasti'', which at that time was ...

in the 1990s.Soberanes-González, C. A., C. I. Rodríguez-Flores, M. d. C. Arizmendi, and T. S. Schulenberg (2020). Sumichrast's Wren (''Hylorchilus sumichrasti''), 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.sumwre1.01 retrieved June 2, 2021 The common name of this species commemorates the Mexican naturalist

François Sumichrast Adrien Louis Jean François Sumichrast (15 October 1828 — 26 September 1882) was a Swiss-Mexican naturalist and zoologist. Working mostly in Mexico, he collected specimens for museums and published descriptions of birds, mammals, amphibians ...

Description

Sumichrast's wren is long; a female weighed . The adults have uniform deep brown crowns, napes, and backs; their rumps are a sooty brown. Their chin and throat are buff that deepens through the breast into the flanks and belly. The breast has faint dark bars and the belly has tiny white dots. The juvenile is similar, but its throat has a dirty look and faint dusky scales, its underparts are darker, and the breast and belly markings are fainter.

Distribution and habitat

Sumichrast's wren occurs in a small area of Mexico, from central

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

into northern

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

. It inhabits the understory of humid forest, both

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

and

semi-deciduous Semi-deciduous or semi-evergreen is a botanical term which refers to plants that lose their foliage for a very short period, when old leaves fall off and new foliage growth is starting. This phenomenon occurs in tropical and sub-tropical woody spec ...

, and also shady coffee plantations. However, it is found only in scattered sites that have extensive limestone outcroppings. In elevation it ranges from .

Behavior

Feeding

The diet of Sumichrast's wren is primarily

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

s and other invertebrates such as snails and worms, and also includes small fruit as a minor component. It forages on and very near the ground with hops and short flights, probing into crevices for prey and occasionally snatching a flying insect that passes it.

Breeding

Active Sumichrast's wren nests have been found in May. The nest is a cup made of grass, roots, and other materials and placed in a cave or crevice. Both sexes provide the materials but only the female builds it. The clutch size is three. The male brings food to the female during incubation and both sexes provision nestlings.

Vocalization

The male Sumichrast's wren sings "a varied descending series of loud, rich whistles

The female sings "a simple phrase consisting of a single repeated syllable". One of its calls i

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 Sumichrast's wren as Near Threatened. "This species has a small range and a moderately small population. Both its range and population are probably in decline owing to increasing habitat loss and degradation."

References

External links

Image at ADW
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2225023

Sumichrast's wren Sumichrast's wren (''Hylorchilus sumichrasti''), also known as the slender-billed wren, is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is endemic to Mexico. Taxonomy and systematics Sumichrast's wren is monotypic. A former subspecies, ...

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot