Riverside Wren

About the Riverside Wren

The riverside wren (Cantorchilus semibadius) is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama. The riverside wren has sometimes been treated as conspecific with bay wren (Cantorchilus nigricapillus) but their plumages are quite different as are DNA analyses. The species is monotypic.

The riverside wren is 13 to 14 cm (5.1 to 5.5 in) long and weighs 17 g (0.60 oz). The adults have a bright orange-brown crown; chestnut nape, back, and rump; and a blackish tail with buff-white bars. They have a black-over-white supercilium and the rest of the face is streaked and spotted black and white. From throat to vent their underparts are pale gray with narrow black bars; the gray becomes somewhat buffy to the rear. Juveniles are duller overall, have fine black scaling on the crown, and the underparts' black bars are not as crisp.

The riverside wren is found along the Pacific slope from Costa Rica's Gulf of Nicoya into western Panama. It inhabits dense vegetation, preferably along watercourses, swampy edges of woodlands, or on steep precipices. In elevation it ranges from sea level... Wikipedia →