Hermit Wood-Wren Henicorhina anachoreta Scientific name definitions

Hermit Wood-Wren is restricted to the understory of humid montane forests of the upper Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia, where it occurs from ca 1800-3600 m. Formerly Hermit Wood-Wren was classified as yet another subspecies of Gray-breasted Wood-Wren Henicorhina leucophrys. Hermit and Gray-breasted wood-wrens are narrowly sympatric in the Santa Martas, however, but there Gray-breasted is found only at lower elevations, from ca 600 m up to 2100 m. This general distribution pattern has been known for a long time, but recent field work further documented that Hermit and Gray-breasted wood-wrens have different songs, and genetic data also indicates that these two wood-wrens are not closely related either. What little is known otherwise about Hermit Wood-Wren suggests that its biology is similar to that of Gray-breasted Wood-Wren: it forages in the understory, often in pairs, and is far more easily heard than seen.

c. 10–11 cm. Averages smaller than locally sympatric H. leucophrys, with lower body mass and shorter wings, and a smaller bill, although there is overlap in all three of these characters. Differs from formerly conspecific H. l. bangsi in its lighter, more russet tone to the flanks and upperparts (including tail, rump, wings and mantle), being more sooty- or ferruginous-brown than deep chestnut; the nape and crown are olive-brown, sometimes becoming grey towards the forehead , rather than being uniformly dark brown as in H. l. bangsi, the throat is whitish grey and indistinctly streaked, rather than uniform greyish white and unstreaked as in H. l. bangsi, and the breast is decidedly darker and less suffused with buffy than H. l. bangsi.

Upper levels of Santa Marta (2000–4000 m), in N Colombia.

Song differs significantly from H. l. bangsi in being characterized by a higher frequency and a greater frequency range, but identification based on vocalizations alone undoubtedly requires care.

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened. Restricted-range species: present in Santa Marta Mountains EBA. Maximum range 2500 km². Apparently widespread and common in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (2 Cadena, C.D., Caro, L.M., Caycedo, P.C., Cuervo, A.M., Bowie, R.C.K. and Slabbekoorn, H. (2016). Henicorhina anachoreta (Troglodytidae), another endemic bird species for the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. Orn. Colombiana 15: 82–89. Close ), but population has not been estimated BirdLife International (2018) Species factsheet: Henicorhina anachoreta. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 11/01/2018. . Tolerates some habitat disturbance, so unlikely to be seriously threatened (2 Cadena, C.D., Caro, L.M., Caycedo, P.C., Cuervo, A.M., Bowie, R.C.K. and Slabbekoorn, H. (2016). Henicorhina anachoreta (Troglodytidae), another endemic bird species for the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. Orn. Colombiana 15: 82–89. Close ), but its population is thought to be decreasing BirdLife International (2018) Species factsheet: Henicorhina anachoreta. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 11/01/2018. . Occurs in several protected areas including the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Park and the wider Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Biosphere Reserve. It has been suggested that its populations merit some monitoring, especially given looming threats faced by montane birds in the region as a consequence of climatic change.