Apolinar's wren
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Cistothorus apolinari

Apolinar's wren (Cistothorus apolinari ) is a passerine bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is endemic to Colombia.

Appearance

Apolinar's wren is 12 cm (4.7 in) long. A male C. a. hernandezi weighed 17.7 g (0.62 oz). Nominate adults have a chestnut crown, blackish brown shoulders and upper back with whitish buff streaks, and bright reddish brown lower back and rump. Their tails are reddish with blackish brown barring. They have a faint supercilium that is a bit lighter than the rest of the gray-brown face. Their underparts are buff-brown that is lighter on the throat and more reddish on the lower flanks. The juvenile's head is dark gray-brown with no supercilium, a buff nape, and less streaking on the back than the adult.

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C. a. hernandezi is much more whitish on its underparts than the nominate, rather than buffy. It wings are longer, its tail shorter, and its bill both heavier and longer.

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Distribution

Geography

Continents
Countries
Biogeographical realms

The nominate Apolinar's wren is found in the Andes of Colombia's Cundinamarca and Boyacá Departments. It inhabits marshes and lake-edge vegetation, especially those with Typha cattails and Scirpus bullrushes. In elevation it is generally found between 2,500 and 3,000 m (8,200 and 9,800 ft) though it also occurs at one site with an elevation of 3,015 m (9,892 ft).

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C. a. hernandezi is restricted to the Sumapaz Massif, south of Bogotá in Cundinamarca. It inhabits very different terrain, boggy páramo at elevations between 3,800 and 3,900 m (12,500 and 12,800 ft). It favors páramo with the shrubs Diplostephium revolutum or Espeletia grandiflora and requires Chusquea tessellata dwarf bamboo for nesting.

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Apolinar's wren habitat map
Apolinar's wren habitat map
Apolinar's wren
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Diet and Nutrition

Apolinar's wren forages by climbing up vegetation stems and then dropping to near ground or water level. The nominate appears to feed primarily on Chironomus midges but also spiders and other adult and larval insects. C. a. hernandezi appears to also feed on insects but details have not been published.

Mating Habits

The nominate Apolinar's wren appears to breed between February or March and October and might double-brood. It also might breed in loose colonies. One nest was a ball constructed of strips of Typha leaves and placed in a thick Typha stand. The nests are known to be parasitized by shiny cowbirds (Molothrus bonariensis ).

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C. a. hernandezi is a cooperative breeder, though a group has only one breeding pair. Up to 10 individuals defend the nest and otherwise participate in the breeding cycle. The nest is a sphere of coarse grass lined with softer leaves and has a side entrance.

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Population

Population number

The IUCN has assessed Apolinar's wren as Endangered. "This species has a very small population and range. It is thought to be declining rapidly, owing to loss and degradation of its severely fragmented habitat. All subpopulations are suspected to be extremely small, and some have been extirpated over the last few decades."

References

1. Apolinar's wren Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apolinar's_wren
2. Apolinar's wren on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22711366/131963740
3. Xeno-canto bird call - https://xeno-canto.org/693426

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