Carolina Wren

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Carolina Wren
Carolina Wren - Thryothorus ludovicianus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Woodbridge, Virginia.jpg

Carolina wren ( Thryothorus ludovicianus )

Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Superfamily : Certhioidea
Family : Wrens (Troglodytidae)
Genre : Thryorchilus
Type : Carolina Wren
Scientific name of the  genus
Thryorchilus
Vieillot , 1816
Scientific name of the  species
Thryothorus ludovicianus
( Latham , 1790)

The Carolina Wren ( Thryothorus ludovicianus ) is a bird art from the family of wrens (Troglodytidae) located in Canada , the United States , Mexico , Belize , Guatemala and Nicaragua is widespread. The IUCN assesses the population as Least Concern .

features

The Carolina wren reaches a body length of about 12.5 to 14 cm with a weight of 15.0 to 22.0 g. The white stripe above the eyes is bordered above and below by narrow black stripes. The rear eye stripe is brown. The ear covers are matt white to light yellow-brown with dark edges. The top of the head and the back are beautifully brown, which turns into maroon at the rump . The shoulders and the large upper wing coverts appear warm brown, with white spots on the smaller hand wings. The hand and arm wings are warm brown with dark brown stripes. The control feathers appear colder in color than the rump and have dark brown bands. The chin and throat are matt whitish, the chest yellow-brown, the flanks and the rear belly warm yellow-brown. The eyes are red-brown, the beak is gray-brown with a yellowish base. The legs are flesh-colored. Both sexes are similar. Young animals generally look lighter than adult birds and have yellow-brown tips on the wing covers.

Behavior and nutrition

The Carolina wren feeds largely on invertebrates, especially beetles , beaked beetles and grasshoppers . Small vertebrates such as tree frogs, lizards and, rarely, small snakes are also part of its diet. It also feeds on seeds, pulp and the like. The northern populations regularly defend feeding stations, where tallow is a welcome food. It usually looks for its food in the lower strata in pairs or with family members in dense vegetation. He searches in leaf garbage by turning it around looking for prey. Occasionally he climbs in the trees by examining the crevices in the bark. It has been observed that he, like the nuthatch of the genus Sitta, places hard-coated seeds in cracks and pounds on them to open them.

Vocalizations

The singing of the male Carolina wren consists of about 30 different songs, each loud, ringing, penetrating and sounding like ti-kettel ti-kettel ti-kettel or liberty-liberty-liberty or a similar interpretation. He first trills a series of a song before switching to another. The female does not seem to sing as complex as the male or other tropical conspecific species. Instead, it emits a dry, unskilled rattle similar to that of the male.

Reproduction

In Ontario , Canada, egg laying begins in May, earlier further south e.g. B. in Tennessee in late March. There can be up to three broods per year. Nest building in the south of the USA continues until August. Little is known about the Mexican populations. Usually he is monogamous and he stays with his partner for many years. Nevertheless, polygamous behavior has also been observed. He maintains his territory all year round, mostly in pairs, but also single males. The main part of the nest building is done by the male, occasionally bringing material to the female, who uses it for building. The nest has a domed structure with a side entrance. It is built from dry grass, strips of bark, horse hair etc. as well as from cord or snake skin and lined with finer material. It is usually installed at one to three meters above the ground, rarely at heights of up to ten meters if it is a cave-like environment. He also uses artificial breeding grounds such as nest chambers, hollow spaces in the shade, tin boxes or even bizarre places such as the pocket of a hung jacket or in a hole in a bank or similar places. Nests in closed areas are sometimes built without a roof. A clutch consists of 3 to 6 eggs, in Tennessee mostly 5, in Alabama mostly 4, determined. The eggs are cream in color with reddish brown spots, especially on the thicker end. Incubation takes place exclusively by the female, but the male provides food. The incubation period is 12 to 16 days. The nestlings are fed by both sexes and fledged after 12 to 14 days. The brown-headed cowbird ( Molothrus ater ) regularly uses the nest as a host nest for its eggs.

distribution and habitat

Distribution area of ​​the Carolina wren

The Carolina wren occurs in different ecosystems. Its habitat includes hardwood forests such as oaks and mixed cone-bearing hardwood forests. It is also often present at forest edges, urban areas with good vegetation, or abandoned farms. It is also often found in damp river plains. The island species move in areas with palmetto palms and Pinus elliottii . It usually moves at high altitudes from sea level to medium altitudes. In Mexico it can occur up to 2000 meters.

migration

The Carolina wren is usually a resident bird . Ringing studies have shown that in most cases, the territory is occupied by a couple all year round. Nevertheless there are some migration movements, probably by young animals. Thus, a young animal was identified that migrated from Massachusetts to New Hampshire in six weeks. In addition, there have been a considerable number of unusual reports from places such as eastern New Mexico and Colorado , southern Manitoba , Nova Scotia, and the Magdalen Islands .

Subspecies

Ten subspecies are known:

  • Thryothorus ludovicianus ludovicianus ( Latham , 1790) occurs in southeastern Canada and the eastern United States.
  • Thryothorus ludovicianus miamensis Ridgway , 1875 is common in Florida . The subspecies is larger and darker on the top and bottom than the nominate form.
  • Thryothorus ludovicianus nesophilus Stevenson, HM , 1973 occurs on Dog Island northwest of Florida. The subspecies has a whiter over-eye stripe and a lighter underside.
  • Thryothorus ludovicianus burleighi Lowery , 1940 is common in the islands along the Mississippi coast . The subspecies appears more matt and has a more sooty underside. The tail bands are more obscure.
  • Thryothorus ludovicianus lomitensis Sennett , 1890 found in Texas and northern Tamaulipas . The subspecies resembles T. l. berlandieri is more matt on the top and lighter on the bottom. The flanks are often striped.
  • Thryothorus ludovicianus oberholseri Lowery , 1940 is common in southwest Texas and northern Mexico. The subspecies is a little redder than T. l. lomitensis .
  • Thryothorus ludovicianus berlandieri Baird, SF , 1858 occurs in eastern Coahuila , Nuevo León and southwestern Tamaulipas. The subspecies is smaller but has a larger beak. The top is more matt and the flanks are somewhat darkly striped.
  • Thryothorus ludovicianus tropicalis Lowery & Newman, RJ , 1949 occurs in the east of San Luis Potosí and the south of Tamaulipa. The subspecies is darker than T. l. berlandieri and T. l. lomitensis . The tail is streaked with many bands.
  • Thryothorus ludovicianus albinucha ( Cabot, S , 1847) is distributed in southeastern Mexico, northern Belize and northern Guatemala.
  • Thryothorus ludovicianus subfulvus Miller, W & Griscom , 1925 occurs in Guatemala and Nicaragua.

Thryothorus ludovicianus tabascensis Lowery & Berrett, DGJ , 1963 is now used as a synonym for T. l. albinucha considered.

Some authorities see the white- browed wren ( Thryothorus albinucha ) with the subspecies T. a. subfulvus a species of its own.

Etymology and history of research

The Carolina wren was first described in 1790 by John Latham under the scientific name Sylvia ludoviciana . The type specimen came from Louisiana . It was not until 1816 that Louis Pierre Vieillot introduced the genus Thryothorus, which was new to science . This name is derived from “thryon θρυον ” for “reed” and “thoyros, thrōskō θουρος, θρωσκω ” for “jump, jump”. The species name "ludovicianus" is the Latin name for "Louis". In this case, the name refers to the state of Louisiana, which was named after Louis XIV . “Burleighi” is Thomas Dearborn Burleigh (1895–1973), “oberholseri” is dedicated to Harry Church Oberholser (1870–1963) and “berlandieri” is dedicated to Jean Louis Marie Berlandier (1803–1851). “Miamensis” refers to the Miami River , “tabascensis” to the state of Tabasco , “lomitensis” to the Lomita Ranch in Hidalgo County . "Nesophilus" is a Greek word formation from "nēsos φιλος " for "island" and "philos, phileō, philos φιλος, φιλεω, φιλος " for "loving, loving, lover". "Tropicalis, tropicus" is the Latin word for tropical . "Albinucha" is made up of the Latin words "albus" for "white" and "nuchus" for "neck", "subfulvus" from "sub" for "below" and "fulvus" for "reddish-yellow-brown, tan" .

literature

  • Donald Eugene Kroodsma, David Brewer in: Josep del Hoyo , Andrew Elliott, Jordi Sargatal , David Andrew Christie , Eduardo de Juana: Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) in Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive . Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
  • James A. Jobling: Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 .
  • John Latham: Index ornithologicus, sive, Systema ornithologiae; complectens avium divisionem in classes, ordines, genera, species, ipsarumque varietates: adjectis synonymis, locis, descriptionibus, & c. tape 2 . Prostant Venales Apud Leigh et Sotheby, London 1790 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • Robert Ridgway: Description of a new wren from Eastern Florida . In: The American naturalist . tape 90 , no. 1 , 1875, p. 469-470 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • Henry Miller Stevenson: An Undescribed Insular Race of the Carolina Wren . In: The Auk . tape 90 , no. 1 , 1973, p. 35–38 ( sora.unm.edu [PDF; 208 kB ]).
  • George Hines Lowery Jr .: Geographical Variation in the Carolina Wren . In: The Auk . tape 57 , no. 1 , 1940, p. 95-104 ( sora.unm.edu [PDF; 556 kB ]).
  • George Hines Lowery, Jr., Robert James Newman: New birds from the state of San Luis Potosi and the Tuxtla mountains of Veracruz, Mexico . In: Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology of the Louisiana State University . No. 22 , February 5, 1949, pp. 1–10 ( sites01.lsu.edu [PDF; 474 kB ]).
  • George Hines Lowery, Jr., Delwyn Green Berrett: A new Carolina wren (Aves: Troglodytidae) from Southern Mexico . In: Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology of the Louisiana State University . No. 24 , December 20, 1963, pp. 1–3 ( sites01.lsu.edu [PDF; 136 kB ]).
  • George Burritt Sennett: A New Wren from the Lower Rio Grande, Texas, with Notes on Berlandier's Wren of Northeastern Mexico . In: The Auk . tape 7 , no. 1 , 1890, p. 57–60 ( sora.unm.edu [PDF; 178 kB ]).
  • Spencer Fullerton Baird, John Cassin, George Newbold Lawrence: Birds . In: Reports of explorations and surveys, to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. tape 9 , no. 2 , 1858, p. 1-1005 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • Samuel Cabot: Troglodytes albinucha, a new species of Wren . In: Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History . tape 2 , November 17, 1847, p. 258-259 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • Waldron DeWitt Miller, Ludlow Griscom: Descriptions of new birds from Nicaragua . In: American Museum novitates . No. 159 , 1925, pp. 1–9 ( digitallibrary.amnh.org [PDF; 845 kB ]).
  • Louis Pierre Vieillot: Analyze d'une nouvelle ornithologie élémentaire . Deterville, Paris 1816 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).

Web links

Commons : Carolina Wren ( Thryothorus ludovicianus )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Donald Eugene Kroodsma u. a.
  2. ↑ IOC World Bird List Dapple-throats, sugarbirds, fairy-bluebirds, kinglets, hyliotas, wrens, gnatcatchers
  3. ^ A b John Latham (1790), p. 548.
  4. ^ A b Robert Ridgway (1875), p. 469.
  5. ^ Henry Miller Stevenson (1973), p. 36.
  6. ↑ a b George Hines Lowery Jr. (1940), pp. 99-100
  7. ↑ a b George Burritt Sennett (1890), pp. 58–60.
  8. ↑ a b George Hines Lowery Jr. (1940), pp. 101-103
  9. ↑ a b Spencer Fullerton Baird, pp. 360 & 362, plate 83 Figure 1.
  10. ↑ George Hines Lowery Jr. et al. a. (1949), p. 4.
  11. ^ Samuel Cabot III (1949), p. 258.
  12. ↑ Waldron DeWitt Miller et al. a. (1925), p. 8.
  13. ↑ a b George Hines Lowery Jr. u. a. (1963), p. 1.
  14. ↑ Louis Pierre Vieillot (1873), pp. 45 & 70.
  15. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 385.
  16. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 232.
  17. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 269.
  18. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 391.
  19. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 39.
  20. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 370.