| Stripe-backed wren | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Troglodytidae |
| Genus: | Campylorhynchus |
| Species: | C. nuchalis |
| Binomial name | |
| Campylorhynchus nuchalis Cabanis, 1847 | |
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The stripe-backed wren (Campylorhynchus nuchalis) is a bird found in the savannas of northern Colombia and central Venezuela. It lives in dry, riparian woodland, or farmlands, and is found at heights up to 800 m.
The stripe-backed wren has attracted considerable scientific attention because it is a good example of co-operative breeding. It lives in groups ranging from 2 to 10 adult birds. Of these, only one pair breeds, laying eggs at the beginning of the rainy season (May to September). However, all members of the group participate in defence of the territory, and in feeding the young both in the nest and after fledging. They therefore qualify as helpers at the nest.
The non-breeding members of the group are usually offspring or siblings of the current breeding parents. After one or two seasons, females normally leave their natal groups and join another nest as helpers, typically in a neighbouring territory. Males, however, usually remain at their natal nest and if they survive will inherit the position of breeding male (though under some circumstances they too disperse). If the current breeding male dies or is removed, the next oldest male in the group normally takes over its position.
This breeding system may have evolved as a result of kin selection, but in addition it has been shown by Wiley and Rabenold (1984) that the males' behaviour of "queueing" for the status of breeding male can be an evolutionarily stable strategy provided some plausible conditions are met. Formally, the situation has the characteristics of a prisoner's dilemma game that is played repeatedly between the same partners, and in this case "defection" - jumping the queue - would not be advantageous.
Some of the calls of stripe-backed wrens show individual variations that are consistent from father to son. This is a potential example of the formation of a dialect in bird song. The distinctive family calls seem to be used to maintain social contact between members of the co-operatively breeding group.
As would be expected in a species where both sexes share in parental care, the stripe-backed wren shows no sexual dimorphism in appearance.
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 yellow-bellied sapsucker is a medium-sized woodpecker that breeds in Canada and the northeastern United States.
The marsh wren is a small North American songbird of the wren family. It is sometimes called the long-billed marsh wren to distinguish it from the sedge wren, also known as the short-billed marsh wren.
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.
Helpers at the nest is a term used in behavioural ecology and evolutionary biology to describe a social structure in which juveniles and sexually mature adolescents of either one or both sexes remain in association with their parents and help them raise subsequent broods or litters, instead of dispersing and beginning to reproduce themselves. This phenomenon was first studied in birds where it occurs most frequently, but it is also known in animals from many different groups including mammals and insects. It is a simple form of co-operative breeding. The effects of helpers usually amount to a net benefit, however, benefits are not uniformly distributed by all helpers nor across all species that exhibit this behaviour. There are multiple proposed explanations for the behaviour, but its variability and broad taxonomic occurrences result in simultaneously plausible theories.
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.
Campylorhynchus is a genus of wrens, which has at least 15 described species. At 17–22 cm (6.8-8.7 in) long, these are the largest-bodied of wrens, including the largest species, the giant wren. Member species are found in South and Central America and in some cases, as far north as the southwestern United States.
The giant wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Mexico and Guatemala.
The fasciated wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru.
The bicolored wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, and Brazil.
The spotted wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is endemic to Mexico.
Boucard's wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is endemic to Mexico.
The Yucatan wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is endemic to Mexico. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and it is only found on the narrow coastal strip of the northern Yucatán Peninsula. One of the key habitats of this species is the Petenes mangroves ecoregion of the Yucatan coast. It is threatened by habitat destruction.
The purple-crowned fairywren is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is the largest of the eleven species in the genus Malurus and is endemic to northern Australia. The species name is derived from the Latin word cǒrōna meaning "crown", owing to the distinctive purple circle of crown feathers sported by breeding males. Genetic evidence shows that the purple-crowned fairywren is most closely related to the superb fairywren and splendid fairywren. Purple-crowned fairywrens can be distinguished from other fairywrens in northern Australia by the presence of cheek patches and the deep blue colour of their perky tails.
The red-winged fairywren is a species of passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is non-migratory and endemic to the southwestern corner of Western Australia. Exhibiting a high degree of sexual dimorphism, the male adopts a brilliantly coloured breeding plumage, with an iridescent silvery-blue crown, ear coverts and upper back, red shoulders, contrasting with a black throat, grey-brown tail and wings and pale underparts. Non-breeding males, females and juveniles have predominantly grey-brown plumage, though males may bear isolated blue and black feathers. No separate subspecies are recognised. Similar in appearance and closely related to the variegated fairywren and the blue-breasted fairywren, it is regarded as a separate species as no intermediate forms have been recorded where their ranges overlap. Though the red-winged fairywren is locally common, there is evidence of a decline in numbers.
The white-winged fairywren is a species of passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It lives in the drier parts of Central Australia; from central Queensland and South Australia across to Western Australia. Like other fairywrens, this species displays marked sexual dimorphism and one or more males of a social group grow brightly coloured plumage during the breeding season. The female is sandy-brown with light-blue tail feathers; it is smaller than the male, which, in breeding plumage, has a bright-blue body, black bill, and white wings. Younger sexually mature males are almost indistinguishable from females and are often the breeding males. In spring and summer, a troop of white-winged fairywrens has a brightly coloured older male accompanied by small, inconspicuous brown birds, many of which are also male. Three subspecies are recognised. Apart from the mainland subspecies, one is found on Dirk Hartog Island, and another on Barrow Island off the coast of Western Australia. Males from these islands have black rather than blue breeding plumage.
The cactus wren is a species of wren endemic to the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. It is the state bird of Arizona, and the largest wren in the United States. Its plumage is brown, with black and white spots as markings. It has a distinctive white eyebrow that sweeps to the nape of the neck. The chest is white, whereas the underparts are cinnamon-buff colored. Both sexes appear similar. The tail, as well as flight feathers, are barred in black and white. Their song is a loud raspy chirrup; akin in the description of some ornithologists to the sound of a car engine that will not start. It is well-adapted to its native desert environment, and the birds can meet their water needs from their diet which consists chiefly of insects, but also of some plant matter. The cactus wren is a poor flier and generally forages for food on the ground. Ornithologists generally recognize seven subspecies, with the exact taxonomy under dispute.
Swainson's hawk is a large bird species in the Accipitriformes order. This species was named after William Swainson, a British naturalist. It is colloquially known as the grasshopper hawk or locust hawk, as it is very fond of Acrididae and will voraciously eat these insects whenever they are available.
The Veracruz wren is a songbird of the family Troglodytidae. It is endemic to Mexico.
