St. Lucia wren

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St. Lucia wren
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Troglodytidae
Genus: Troglodytes
Species:
T. mesoleucus
Binomial name
Troglodytes mesoleucus
(Sclater, PL, 1876)

The St. Lucia wren (Troglodytes mesoleucus) is a very small passerine bird in the wren family Troglodytidae that is found on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. 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. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the house wren, now renamed the northern house wren (Troglodytes aedon).

Contents

Taxonomy

The St. Lucia wren was formally described in 1876 by the English zoologist Philip Sclater based on a specimen collected by the amateur ornithologist the Reverend John E. Semper on the island of Saint Lucia. Sclater coined the binomial name Thryothorus mesoleucus where the specific epithet is from Ancient Greek μεσολευκος/mesoleukos meaning "middling-white" or "streaked white". [1] [2] [3] The St. Lucia wren was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the house wren, now renamed the northern house wren (Troglodytes aedon). It is now recognised as a separate species based on differences in ecology, behavior, morphology and vocalizations. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [8]

Distribution

A survey conducted on St. Lucia using audio playback in 1997 found a total of 59 individuals in four disjunct populations. The authors of the survey estimated that the total population on the island was around 100 birds. [4]

References

  1. ↑ Sclater, Philip Lutley (1876). "On some additional species of birds from St. Lucia". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London: 13-14 [14].
  2. ↑ Mayr, Ernst; Greenway, James C. Jr, eds. (1960). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 9. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 424.
  3. ↑ Jobling, James A. "mesoleucus". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  4. 1 2 Gilardi, J.D.; John, C.L. (1998). "Conservation of the St. Lucia House Wren Troglodytes aedon mesoleucus: Distribution, abundance and breeding biology". Dodo, Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust. 34: 91–102.
  5. ↑ Wetten, Kimberley Nicole (2012). Morphological divergence in the House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) species complex: A study of island populations with a focus on the Grenada House Wren (T. a. grenadensis) (MSc thesis). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  6. ↑ Oberholser, Harry C. (1904). "A review of the wrens of the genus Troglodytes". Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 27 (1354): 197-210 [209]. doi: 10.5479/si.00963801.27-1354.197 .
  7. ↑ Chesser, R.T.; Billerman, S.M.; Burns, K.J.; Cicero, C.; Dunn, J.L.; Hernández-Baños, B.E.; Jiménez, R.A.; Johnson, O.; Kratter, A.W.; Mason, N.A.; Rasmussen, P.C.; Remsen, J.V.J. (2024). "Sixty-fifth Supplement to the American Ornithological Society's Check-list of North American Birds". Ornithology. 141 (3): ukae019. doi: 10.1093/ornithology/ukae019 .
  8. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2024). "Dapple-throats, sugarbirds, fairy-bluebirds, kinglets, hyliotas, wrens & gnatcatchers". IOC World Bird List Version 14.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
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