Southern House Wren
Troglodytes musculus
Silhouette: T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyTroglodytidae (Wrens)
- GenusTroglodytes (Troglodytes Wrens)
- SpeciesTroglodytes musculus (Southern House Wren)
About the Southern House Wren
The southern house wren (Troglodytes musculus) is a very small passerine bird in the wren family Troglodytidae. It is found from southern Mexico to southern Chile and southern Argentina. 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 northern house wren (Troglodytes aedon).
The southern house wren was formally described in 1823 by the German naturalist Johann Andreas Naumann under the binomial name Troglodytes musculus. He specified the type locality as the state of Bahia in eastern Brazil. The specific epithet is Latin meaning "little mouse". The southern house wren was formerly considered to be part of the house wren complex that also included the northern house wren and six insular forms. The southern house wren was split from the complex based on the deep genetic divergence, differences in vocalizations and differences in morphology.
Twenty-one subspecies are recognised: T. m. intermedius Cabanis, 1861 – south Mexico (southeast Veracruz and west Chiapas) to central Costa Rica T. m. peninsularis Nelson, 1901... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Southern House Wren in Cajas National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Cajas National Park
Mountain Wren
Troglodytes solstitialis
Grass Wren
Cistothorus platensis
Gray-breasted Wood-Wren
Henicorhina leucophrys
Great Thrush
Turdus fuscater
Tawny Antpitta
Grallaria quitensis
Chestnut-winged Cinclodes
Cinclodes albidiventris
Tit-like Dacnis
Xenodacnis parina
Spectacled Redstart
Myioborus melanocephalus
Black Flowerpiercer
Diglossa humeralis
Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant
Ochthoeca fumicolor
Plumbeous Sierra-Finch
Geospizopsis unicolor
Rufous-collared Sparrow
Zonotrichia capensis
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Southern House Wren in Cajas National Park?
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Southern House Wren sighting in Cajas National Park, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Southern House Wren in Cajas National Park?
November has the highest sighting rate for Southern House Wren in Cajas National Park in our monthly data.