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 Masaya Volcano National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Masaya Volcano National Park
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Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.