Wren-like Rushbird

About the Wren-like Rushbird

The wren-like rushbird (Phleocryptes melanops) is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. The wren-like rushbird is the only member of its genus and has these four subspecies:

P. m. brunnescens Zimmer, JT, 1935 P. m. schoenobaenus Cabanis & Heine, 1860 P. m. loaensis Philippi Bañados & Goodall, 1946 P. m. melanops (Vieillot, 1817) The wren-like rushbird is genetically most closely related to the curve-billed reedhaunter (Limnornis curvirostris).

The wren-like rushbird is 13 to 14 cm (5.1 to 5.5 in) long and weighs 11 to 16 g (0.39 to 0.56 oz). It is a small furnariid whose plumage closely resembles that of the wholly unrelated marsh wren (Cistothorus palustris). It has a longish slightly decurved bill. The sexes' plumages are essentially alike though females are slightly paler than males. Adults of the nominate subspecies P. m. melanops have a wide buff supercilium, grayish lores, a dark brown band behind the eye, mottled dark brown ear coverts, and a buff malar area. Their crown is blackish with wide brown streaks... Wikipedia →