Bay Wren

About the Bay Wren

The bay wren (Cantorchilus nigricapillus) is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is native to southern Central America and northwestern South America. The bay wren has sometimes been treated as conspecific with the riverside wren (Cantorchilus semibadius) but their plumages are quite different as are DNA analyses. Some authors consider the two of them a superspecies but others deny that close relationship.

The bay wren has seven subspecies: C. n. costaricensis Sharpe (1882) C. n. castaneus Lawrence (1861) C. n. odicus Wetmore (1959) C. n. reditus Griscom (1932) C. n. schottii Baird (1864) C. n. connectens Chapman (1912) C. n. nigricapillus Sclater (1860)

The Clements taxonomy combines the first five as the "Central American" group and the last two as the "South American" group. Other authors include schottii in the South American group. The bay wren is 12.6 to 15.6 cm (5.0 to 6.1 in) long. Eight specimens from Panama weighed 17.7 to 26.3 g (0.62 to 0.93 oz). Adults of the nominate subspecies have a black face with a narrow white supercilium, a partial eyering, and a white patch at the back of the cheek. Their crown and... Wikipedia →