Rock Wren

Rock Wren ( Salpinctes obsoletus )

The Rock Wren ( Salpinctes obsoletus ) is a small North American songbird of the family of the Wrens ( Troglodytidae ). The genus is depending on the perspective of the editor of a species or several species.

Description

The twelve -centimeter birds have a gray-brown plumage with small black and white dots. They have a light gray, speckled breast and a light brown belly. Above the eye, a light gray stripe draws along; they have a long, thin beak, banded tail feathers and dark legs.

They breed in rocky, dry habitats - for example in canyons that extend from the south-west of Canada to Costa Rica in the south. There are two to three broods per year with four to six, rarely only one to three or seven to ten eggs, which are incubated by the female. The young birds are cared for by both parents. The nest is open at the top and often at ground level between stones in a small cave or hidden column. It is built on a foundation of pebbles, grasses, bark and thin roots and lined with hair and feathers. A strange habit of birds is that they - Create strip of pebbles - along the paths to the nest.

The southern populations are not migratory birds, while the northern populations in warmer areas in winter - as the central and south-western states of the USA - pull. Occasionally, they also migrate in the eastern United States.

Rock wrens seek their food on the ground. They feed mainly on insects and spiders.

The song of this species is usually a trill, in the breeding season of the singing is more diverse.

System

The species is divided into several subspecies. Some subspecies exist only on certain islands. The occurring only on the Revillagigedo island of San Benedicto San Benedicto Rock Wren is true since a volcanic eruption in 1952 as extinct.

• S. o costaricensis (Costa Rica Rock Wren ) S. o exsul ( San Benedicto Rock Wren )

About Scheduled rock wren

The two southernmost subspecies of the rock wren, whose belly is white and have a more speckled breast, are sometimes regarded as a separate species P. neglectus and then separated obsoletus of Salpinctes:

• S. o neglectus neglectus is, then p n;
• S. o sollicitus it means: S. n sollicitus.