St. Vincent wren

Last updated

St. Vincent 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. musicus
Binomial name
Troglodytes musicus
(Lawrence, 1878)
Synonyms [1]
  • Thryothorus musicus Lawrence, 1878
  • Troglodytes martinicensis musicus (Lawrence, 1878)
  • Troglodytes musculus musicus (Lawrence, 1878)
  • Troglodytes aedon musicus (Lawrence, 1878)

The St. Vincent wren (Troglodytes musicus) is a very small passerine bird in the wren family Troglodytidae that is found on the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent. 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. Vincent wren was formally described in 1878 by the American ornithologist George Newbold Lawrence based on specimens collected by the naturalist Frederick A. Ober on the island of Saint Vincent. Lawrence coined the binomial name Thryothorus musicus where the specific epithet is Latin meaning "musical". [2] [3] [4] The St. Vincent 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 differences in vocalizations, plumage, ecology and genetics. [5] [6] [7] [8] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [8]

Etymology

The Saint Vincent wren is classified in the genus Troglodytes; this name means "cave dweller" in Greek. The specific name, musicus, is Latin and means "musical". [9]

Description

The Saint Vincent wren has reddish-brown upperparts contrasting with whitish underparts, the wings and tailare barred with dark and tail, a pale supercilium and face with reddish-brown with darker speckling on the breast, sides and undertail. It has a buzzing call and the song is sweet and musical. [10]

Distribution and habitat

The Saint Vincent wren is endemic to the island of Saint Vincent in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, here it is found from montane evergreen forests and brushy woodlands to farmland and built up areas. [10]

References

  1. ↑ "St. Vincent Wren Troglodytes musicus (Lawrence, GN 1878)". AviBase. Denis Lepage. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  2. ↑ Lawrence, George Newbold (1877). "Descriptions of seven new species of birds from the island of St. Vincent, West Indies". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1 (published 1878): 146-152 [148].
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ Jobling, James A. "musicus". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  5. ↑ 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 .
  6. ↑ Klicka, J.; Epperly, K.; Smith, B.T.; Spellman, G.M.; Chaves, J.A.; Escalante, P.; Witt, C.C.; Canales-del-Castillo, R.; Zink, R.M. (2023). "Lineage diversity in a widely distributed New World passerine bird, the House Wren". Ornithology. 140 (3): ukad018. doi: 10.1093/ornithology/ukad018 .
  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.
  9. ↑ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London, United Kingdom: Christopher Helm. p.  391 261. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  10. 1 2 "Endemic Bird of the Day: St. Vincent Wren". Birds Caribbean. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.