This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(October 2010) |
Pacific wren | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Troglodytidae |
Genus: | Troglodytes |
Species: | T. pacificus |
Binomial name | |
Troglodytes pacificus Baird, 1864 | |
Synonyms | |
Nannus pacificus |
The Pacific wren (Troglodytes pacificus) is a very small North American bird and a member of the mainly New World wren family Troglodytidae. It was once lumped with Troglodytes hiemalis of eastern North America and Troglodytes troglodytes of Eurasia as the winter wren.
It breeds along the Pacific coast from Alaska to California and inland as far as Wyoming and the Black Hills of South Dakota. It migrates through and winters across the western half of the United States and Canada.
The scientific name is taken from the Greek word troglodytes (from trogle a hole, and dyein to creep), meaning 'cave-dweller', and refers to its habit of disappearing into cavities or crevices whilst hunting arthropods or to roost.
Rufous brown above, richly colored below, barred with darker brown and dusky, even on wings and tail. The bill is dark brown, the legs pale brown. Young birds are less distinctly barred.
By studying the songs and genetics of individuals in an overlap zone between Troglodytes hiemalis and T. pacificus, Toews and Irwin (2008) [2] [3] found strong evidence of reproductive isolation between the two. It was suggested that the pacificus subspecies be promoted to the species level designation of Troglodytes pacificus with the common name of ‘Pacific wren’. By applying a molecular clock to the amount of mitochondrial DNA sequence divergence between the two, [4] it was estimated that Troglodytes pacificus and Troglodytes troglodytes last shared a common ancestor approximately 4.3 million years ago, long before the glacial cycles of the Pleistocene, thought to have promoted speciation in many avian systems inhabiting the boreal forest of North America. [5]
The Pacific wren nests mostly in coniferous forests, especially those of spruce and fir, where it is often identified by its long and exuberant song. Although it is an insectivore, it can remain in moderately cold and even snowy climates by foraging for insects on substrates such as bark and fallen logs.
Its movements as it creeps or climbs are incessant rather than rapid; its short flights swift and direct but not sustained, its tiny round wings whirring as it flies from bush to bush.
At night, usually in winter, it often roosts, true to its scientific name, in dark retreats, snug holes and even old nests. In hard weather it may do so in parties, either consisting of the family or of many individuals gathered together for warmth.
For the most part insects and spiders are its food, but in winter large pupae are taken and some seeds.
The male builds a small number of nests. These are called "cock nests" but are never lined until the female chooses one to use. The normal round nest of grass, moss, lichens or leaves is tucked into a hole in a wall, tree trunk, crack in a rock or corner of a building, but it is often built in bushes, overhanging boughs or the litter which accumulates in branches washed by floods. Five to eight white or slightly speckled eggs are laid in April, and second broods are reared.
A particular facet of the Pacific Wren is that the males use intricate vocalizations to attract females for mating. Pacific Wrens are songbirds and the songs are used for mating purposes as well as for territorial displays. In British Columbia, Canada, male Pacific Wren have been observed to adapt their songs in the presence of highway noise. Pacific Wrens are widely known for their variety and complexity of song. In adaptation to the noise of freeway traffic, male Pacific wrens were observed to change the overall length of their songs. However, other changes in song variation and individual syllable length could not be concluded. [6]
A variation in reproduction success has been observed at higher altitudes. In the forests of British Columbia, at higher altitudes, in 2003-2004 there was a decline in breeding compared with lower altitudes of habitation for the Pacific Wren. Specifically, the length of breeding season was shorter and the survival rates of nests were lower. However, other factors such as incubation length and the total number of eggs in each nesting attempt showed no variation due to elevation. Although the Pacific Wren overall lacked adaptation to higher altitudes, there was a small percentage of Pacific Wrens that were able to successfully reproduce at these higher elevations. [7]
Adaptations in breeding patterns within urban landscapes were observed in the Seattle, Washington area and its surrounding forests. In the developing urban ecosystems of the city, Pacific Wren fled and relocated to nearby forests. Due to this change of location, breeding success for those Pacific Wren declined significantly. The proportion of wrens returning to the same urban nest in the greater Seattle, Washington area was in some cases observed to be as low as 0%. In this case, the Pacific Wren’s relocation in conjunction with its inability to cultivate a successful new nesting site is what contributed to the decline in reproduction. [8]
In contrast, a close relative of the Pacific Wren, the Bewick’s wren has been highly successful at thriving in certain urban environments. This stands in polarity to the Pacific Wren's diminished numbers in urban areas. Moreover, the Bewick’s Wren, otherwise known as Thryomanes bewickii, has been observed to interact aggressively with the Pacific Wren. However, the exact reasons for Bewick Wren’s success vs. Pacific Wren’s diminishing numbers in urban areas are unclear. Overall, observations are in favor of the hypothesis that urban landscapes foster aggressive and combative interactions between native species. [9]
The 1999 U.S. postage stamp Pacific Coast Rain Forest sheet features a stamp with a "winter wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)"; this bird was subsequently classified as the Pacific wren. [10] The narrator of "The White Seal" story of The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling is Limmershin, a "winter wren", [11] actually the Pacific wren.
Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is commonly known simply as the "wren", as it is the originator of the name. The name wren has been applied to other, unrelated birds, particularly the New Zealand wrens (Acanthisittidae) and the Australian wrens (Maluridae).
The winter wren is a very small North American bird and a member of the mainly New World wren family Troglodytidae. It was once lumped with the Pacific wren of western North America and the Eurasian wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) of Eurasia under the name winter wren.
The tundra swan is a small swan of the Holarctic. The two taxa within it are usually regarded as conspecific, but are also sometimes split into two species: Bewick's swan of the Palaearctic and the whistling swan proper of the Nearctic. Birds from eastern Russia are sometimes separated as the subspecies C. c. jankowskii, but this is not widely accepted as distinct, with most authors including them in C. c. bewickii. Tundra swans are sometimes separated in the subgenus Olor together with the other Arctic swan species.
The yellow-rumped warbler is a regular North American bird species that can be commonly observed all across the continent. Its extensive distribution range connects both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the U.S. as well as Canada and Central America, with the population concentrating in the continent's northern parts during the breeding season and migrating southwards to southern North and Central America in Winter. The species generally prefers coniferous forests or mixed coniferous-deciduous forests as its breeding habitat, while during the winter it can be found inhabiting more open areas such as shrublands that offer food resources. The diet of the yellow-rumped warbler is based primarily on insects, though the species does eat fruits such as juniper berries as well, especially in winter.
The sedge wren is a small and secretive passerine bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is widely distributed in North America. It is often found in wet grasslands and meadows where it nests in the tall grasses and sedges and feeds on insects. The sedge wren was formerly considered as conspecific with the non-migratory grass wren of central and South America.
The house wren is a very small bird of the wren family, Troglodytidae. It occurs from Canada to southernmost South America, and is thus the most widely distributed native bird in the Americas. It occurs in most suburban areas in its range and it is the single most common wren. Its taxonomy is highly complex and some subspecies groups are often considered separate species. The name troglodytes means "hole dweller", and is a reference to the bird's tendency to disappear into crevices when hunting insects or to seek shelter.
The Carolina wren is a common species of wren that is a resident in the eastern half of the United States of America, the extreme south of Ontario, Canada, and the extreme northeast of Mexico. Severe winters restrict the northern limits of their range, while favorable weather conditions lead to a northward extension of their breeding range. Their preferred habitat is in dense cover in forest, farm edges, and suburban areas. This wren is the state bird of South Carolina.
The Bewick's wren is a wren native to North America. It is the only species placed in the genus Thryomanes. At about 14 cm (5.5 in) long, it is grey-brown above, white below, with a long white eyebrow. While similar in appearance to the Carolina wren, it has a long tail that is tipped in white. The song is loud and melodious, much like the song of other wrens. It lives in thickets, brush piles and hedgerows, open woodlands and scrubby areas, often near streams. It eats insects and spiders, which it gleans from vegetation or finds on the ground.
Troglodytes is a genus of small passerine birds in the wren family. These wrens are around 11–13 centimetres (4.3–5.1 in) long. They are brownish above and somewhat paler below, with strong legs. Their short rounded wings and frequently cocked tail have a dark barred pattern. The flight is direct and buzzing.
The ochraceous wren is a small songbird of the wren family. It is a resident breeding species in Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia.
The rufous-backed wren is a songbird of the family Troglodytidae. It is a resident breeding species from southwest Mexico to northwestern Costa Rica.
The band-backed wren is a small songbird of the wren family.
Gleaning is a feeding strategy by birds in which they catch invertebrate prey, mainly arthropods, by plucking them from foliage or the ground, from crevices such as rock faces and under the eaves of houses, or even, as in the case of ticks and lice, from living animals. This behavior is contrasted with hawking insects from the air or chasing after moving insects such as ants. Gleaning, in birds, does not refer to foraging for seeds or fruit.
The whistling warbler is a species of bird in the New World warbler family. It is monotypic within the genus Catharopeza. It has a dark back that fades into a lighter gradient going towards the chest. It also has a dark head, a dark strip on the breast, and a light orbital. Both male and female have the same plumage. It is endemic to the island of Saint Vincent in the Lesser Antilles. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. It is threatened by habitat loss. This habitat loss is due to volcanic activity and deforestation. Whistling warblers have cup-shaped nests, and spotted eggs. Their diet primarily consists of insects.
The rufous-browed wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Central America from Mexico south into Nicaragua.
The Socorro wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is endemic to Socorro Island, Mexico. It was formerly placed in Thryomanes but was moved to Troglodytes considering "manners, song, plumage, etc." and by biogeography and mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis of the MT-NADH dehydrogenase protein 2 gene.
The Eurasian wren or northern wren is a very small insectivorous bird, and the only member of the wren family Troglodytidae found in Eurasia and Africa (Maghreb). In Anglophone Europe, it is commonly known simply as the wren. It has a very short tail which is often held erect, a short neck and a relatively long thin bill. It is russet brown above, paler buff-brown below and has a cream buff supercilium. The sexes are alike.
The San Clemente wren(Thryomanes bewickii leucophrys) was a subspecies of Bewick's wren. It was mainly distributed on San Clemente Island, off the southern coast of California. The San Clemente wren is extinct, with the last sighting in 1941.
The Guadalupe wren, also known as the Guadalupe Island wren, was a subspecies of Bewick's wren native to the island of Guadalupe, off the western coast of Baja California. It is extinct, and has not been seen since 1897.