Cabanis's Wren Cantorchilus modestus Scientific name definitions

Cabanis's Wren formerly was known as "Plain Wren", and included two taxa that now are recognized as separate species, Canebrake Wren (Cantorchilus zeledoni) and Isthmian Wren (Cantorchilus elutus). "Plain Wren" indeed was a good name of this species, as it possesses rather few obviously distinguishing field marks. This overall similarity is one reason why Cabanis's, Canebrake, and Isthmian wrens were considered conspecific until phylogenetic analyses revealed that each was more distantly related to each other than previously was thought; this genetic divergence also is complemented by differences in their songs. Cabansis's Wren is widespread in Central America, occurring from southern Mexico south to northwestern Costa Rica; it is replaced farther south by Isthmian Wren (southwestern Costa Rica and Panama), and to the east by Canebrake Wren (the Caribbean slope from Nicaragua to western Panama).

12.5–14 cm. Sexes similar. A rather featureless wren, without strong facial markings or prominent barring or streaking. Nominate race has white supercilium, gray-brown lores and eyestripe; cheeks and ear-coverts mottled dark grayish-brown and gray-white; crown dark gray-brown, back rufous-brown, rump orange-rufous; primaries and secondaries warm brown with obscure darker bars; rectrices rufescent brown with narrow darker bars; throat white, chest pale grayish-buff, center of belly buffy white, flanks, belly side and undertail coverts warm orange-buff.

Differs from C. zeledoni in smaller size, much warmer coloration. Isthmian Wren (C. elutus) is duller and more pale than present species, and has longer bill and shorter tail (1 Ridgway, R. (1904). The birds of North and Middle America. Part III. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 50. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, USA. Close , 2 Saucier, J.R., Sánchez, C. and Carling, M.D. (2015). Patterns of genetic and morphological divergence reveal a species complex in the Plain Wren (Cantorchilus modestus). Auk 132(4): 795–807. Close ). Contrary to previous information (3 Brewer, D. (2001). Wrens, Dippers and Thrashers. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, USA and Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close , 4 Kroodsma, D. and D. Brewer (2019). Plain Wren (Cantorchilus modestus). In Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie and E. de Juana), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. pp. Available from https://www.hbw.com/node/58143. Close ), eye color is similar amongst these three similar species.

Adults apparently appear somewhat different in autumn and winter, presumably in the more northern portions of the species' range. Ridgway (1 Ridgway, R. (1904). The birds of North and Middle America. Part III. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 50. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, USA. Close ) states that their plumage during this time of year is: "Similar to the spring and summer plumage, but pileum and hindneck browner, sometimes almost concolor with back."

Immatures, according to Ridgway (1 Ridgway, R. (1904). The birds of North and Middle America. Part III. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 50. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, USA. Close ) are "Similar in coloration to adults, but brown of upper parts slightly duller, fulvous of flanks and under tail-coverts paler and duller, white of under parts duller, and white superciliary and dusky postocular stripes less distinct."

Iris

bright reddish-brown; in juveniles dark brown (5 Kroodsma, D. and D. Brewer (2005). Plain Wren (Thryothorus modestus). In Handbook of the Birds of the World Volume 10: Cuckoo-shrikes to Thrushes (del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott and D. A. Christie), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. pp. 428. Close ) or slate gray (1 Ridgway, R. (1904). The birds of North and Middle America. Part III. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 50. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, USA. Close )

Bill

maxilla dark brown to blackish, mandible pale leaden-blue; mandible pinish in juveniles

Tarsi and Toes

gray to bluish-slate

Males

wing 58-61 mm (mean 59.6 mm); tail 52-56 mm (mean 53.6 mm); exposed culmen 16.5-18 mm (mean 16.7 mm); tarsus 23.6-24 mm (mean 23.8 mm); middle toe 15 mm (n = 9; Ridgway 1 Ridgway, R. (1904). The birds of North and Middle America. Part III. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 50. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, USA. Close )

Mass: 17.8 g, 19.1 g (n = 2; Russell 6 Russell, S. M. (1964). A distributional study of the birds of British Honduras. Ornithological Monographs 1. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC, USA. Close )

Females

wing 61.5-58 mm (mean 66.3 mm); tail 48-52 mm (mean 50.4 mm); exposed culmen 14.5-16 mm (mean 16.4 mm); tarsus 22-23.6 mm (mean 22.6 mm); middle toe 14-16 mm (mean 14.3 mm) (n = 8; Ridgway 1 Ridgway, R. (1904). The birds of North and Middle America. Part III. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 50. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, USA. Close )

Mass: 16.0 g, 16.6 g (n = 2; Russell 6 Russell, S. M. (1964). A distributional study of the birds of British Honduras. Ornithological Monographs 1. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC, USA. Close )

Frequently treated as conspecific with C. zeledoni (7 Stiles, F. G., and A. F. Skutch (1989). A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, USA. Close , 8 Angher, G. R., and R. Dean (2010). The Birds of Panama. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York and London. Close , 9 Garrigues, R., and R. Dean (2014). Birds of Costa Rica. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). A recent study involving mtDNA, morphometrics and colorimetrics (2 Saucier, J.R., Sánchez, C. and Carling, M.D. (2015). Patterns of genetic and morphological divergence reveal a species complex in the Plain Wren (Cantorchilus modestus). Auk 132(4): 795–807. Close ), however, has resulted in the recognition of C. zeledoni and C. elutus both being recognized as species separate from C. modestus (10 Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood (2019). The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA. Close ). Other authors, however, feel the justification for elevating elutus to species rank is weak (11 Boesman, P. (2016). Notes on the vocalizations of Plain Wren (Thryothorus modestus) and Canebrake Wren (Thryothorus zeledoni). HBW Alive Ornithological Note 294. In: Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close , 4 Kroodsma, D. and D. Brewer (2019). Plain Wren (Cantorchilus modestus). In Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie and E. de Juana), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. pp. Available from https://www.hbw.com/node/58143. Close ), citing similar duet patterns found across all Cantorchilus wrens (12 Mann, N.I., Dingess, K.A., Barker, F.K., Graves, J.A. and Slater, P.J.B. (2009). A comparative study of song form and duetting in Neotropical Thryothorus wrens. Behaviour 146(1): 1–43. Close ).

Some individuals in extreme southwestern Mexico and western Guatemala are generally darker plumaged overall, mainly browner (less rufescent) on the back, and were previously considered a separate race, pullus (13 Ridgway, R. (1903). Diagnoses of nine new forms of American birds. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 16:167–170. Close , 1 Ridgway, R. (1904). The birds of North and Middle America. Part III. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 50. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, USA. Close ). Although recognizing it as a valid race, Hellmayr (14 Hellmayr, C. E. (1934). Catalogue of Birds of the Americas and the Adjacent Islands in Field Museum of Natural History. Part 7. Corvidae, Paridae, Sittidae, Certhiiidae, Chamaeidae, Cinclidae, Troglodytidae, Prunellidae, Mimidae, Turdidae, Zeledoniidae, Sylviidae. Field Museum of Natural History Publication 330. Zoological Series 13. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, USA. Close ) stated that it was "a very unsatisfactory race hardly worthy of recognition." Monroe (15 Monroe, B. L., Jr. (1968). A distributional survey of the birds of Honduras. Ornithological Monographs 7. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC, USA. Close ) rejected recognition of pullus, stating "In a comparison of a series of Costa Rican birds and more than 100 individuals from British Honduras and Honduras, I could detect no geographic variation, except perhaps a tendency towards more brownish coloration on the flanks of northern birds. The differences are too slight to warrant taxonomic recognition." A recent study has suggested that there may be an unrecognized race in the Cayo district of central Belize (2 Saucier, J.R., Sánchez, C. and Carling, M.D. (2015). Patterns of genetic and morphological divergence reveal a species complex in the Plain Wren (Cantorchilus modestus). Auk 132(4): 795–807. Close ).

Closely related to C. elutus and C. zeledoni (14 Hellmayr, C. E. (1934). Catalogue of Birds of the Americas and the Adjacent Islands in Field Museum of Natural History. Part 7. Corvidae, Paridae, Sittidae, Certhiiidae, Chamaeidae, Cinclidae, Troglodytidae, Prunellidae, Mimidae, Turdidae, Zeledoniidae, Sylviidae. Field Museum of Natural History Publication 330. Zoological Series 13. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, USA. Close , 2 Saucier, J.R., Sánchez, C. and Carling, M.D. (2015). Patterns of genetic and morphological divergence reveal a species complex in the Plain Wren (Cantorchilus modestus). Auk 132(4): 795–807. Close ), with which the present species has previously been considered conspecific (1 Ridgway, R. (1904). The birds of North and Middle America. Part III. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 50. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, USA. Close , 16 Ridgely, R. S., and J. Gwynne (1989). A Guide to the Birds of Panama, with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras. 2nd Edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close , 8 Angher, G. R., and R. Dean (2010). The Birds of Panama. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York and London. Close ,9 Garrigues, R., and R. Dean (2014). Birds of Costa Rica. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ,4 Kroodsma, D. and D. Brewer (2019). Plain Wren (Cantorchilus modestus). In Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie and E. de Juana), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. pp. Available from https://www.hbw.com/node/58143. Close ).

Cabanis's Wren is found from southern Mexico, in extreme eastern Oaxaca and Chiapas, through Guatemala (17 Dearborn, N. (1907). Catalogue of a Collection of Birds from Guatemala. Publications of the Field Museum of Natural History (Ornithological Series) 125, pt. 1(3). 69 pp. Close , 18 Land, H. C. (1963) A collection of birds from the Caribbean lowlands of Guatemala. Condor 65: 49–65. Close ), El Salvador (19 Dickey, D. R., and A. J. van Rossem (1938). The birds of El Salvador. Field Museum of Natural History Zoological Series, Chicago, IL, USA. Close ), Honduras (15 Monroe, B. L., Jr. (1968). A distributional survey of the birds of Honduras. Ornithological Monographs 7. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC, USA. Close ), and Nicaragua (20 Martínez-Sánchez, J. C., L. Chavarría-Duriaux, and F. J. Muñoz (2014). A Guide to the Birds of Nicaragua: una guía de aves. Westarp Verlagsservicegesellschaft mbH, Hohe Börde, Germany. Close , 21 Chavarría-Duriaux, L., D. C. Hille, and R. Dean (2018). Birds of Nicaragua: A Field Guide. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, USA. Close ) to central Costa Rica, where confined to the Pacific watershed (7 Stiles, F. G., and A. F. Skutch (1989). A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, USA. Close , 2 Saucier, J.R., Sánchez, C. and Carling, M.D. (2015). Patterns of genetic and morphological divergence reveal a species complex in the Plain Wren (Cantorchilus modestus). Auk 132(4): 795–807. Close ).

Forest edge, second growth, well-vegetated gardens, overgrown citrus plantations with epiphytes, and similar habitats, in both dry and humid areas (22 Slud, P. (1964) The birds of Costa Rica: distribution and ecology. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 128. Close , 23 Slud, P. (1980). The birds of Hacienda Palo Verde, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 292: 1–92. Close , 6 Russell, S. M. (1964). A distributional study of the birds of British Honduras. Ornithological Monographs 1. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC, USA. Close , 24 Greenberg, R., P. Bichier, A. C. Angon, and R. Reitsma (1997). Bird populations in shade and sun coffee plantations in central Guatemala. Conservation Biology 11(2):448-459. Close , 25 Renner, S. C., M. Waltert, and M. Mühlenberg (2006). Comparison of bird communities in primary vs. young secondary tropical montane cloud forest in Guatemala Forest Diversity and Management 2: 485–515. Close , 26 Mark, M. M. (2009). Consequences of habitat selection by two species of Thryothorus wren in a coffee agroforestry landscape. PhD thesis, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York, USA. Close , 27 Patten, M. A., H. Gómez de Silva, and B. D. Smith-Patten (2010). Long-term changes in the bird community of Palenque, Chiapas, in response to rainforest loss. Biodiversity and Conservation 19 (1):21-36. Close ). Across its range, Cabanis's Wren is found from sea-level to c. 2000 m (19 Dickey, D. R., and A. J. van Rossem (1938). The birds of El Salvador. Field Museum of Natural History Zoological Series, Chicago, IL, USA. Close , 7 Stiles, F. G., and A. F. Skutch (1989). A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, USA. Close , 28 Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb (1995). A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press, New York, New York, USA. Close , 20 Martínez-Sánchez, J. C., L. Chavarría-Duriaux, and F. J. Muñoz (2014). A Guide to the Birds of Nicaragua: una guía de aves. Westarp Verlagsservicegesellschaft mbH, Hohe Börde, Germany. Close , 21 Chavarría-Duriaux, L., D. C. Hille, and R. Dean (2018). Birds of Nicaragua: A Field Guide. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, USA. Close ).

Apparently sedentary (5 Kroodsma, D. and D. Brewer (2005). Plain Wren (Thryothorus modestus). In Handbook of the Birds of the World Volume 10: Cuckoo-shrikes to Thrushes (del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott and D. A. Christie), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. pp. 428. Close )

Food mostly insects and spiders (Araneae) (3 Brewer, D. (2001). Wrens, Dippers and Thrashers. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, USA and Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Usually found in pairs, foraging low down in dense vegetation, occasionally higher up in trees. ln El Salvador, Cabanis's Wren has reportedly been captured in mousetraps on the ground and baited with cornmeal, though lightly the birds were chasing insects feeding on the bait rather than trying to consume the cornmeal (19 Dickey, D. R., and A. J. van Rossem (1938). The birds of El Salvador. Field Museum of Natural History Zoological Series, Chicago, IL, USA. Close ).

Song a loud motif of 3–4 clear whistles, “chin-cheer-gwee” or “chin-cheery-gwee,” sometimes given entirely by male, but frequently as a perfectly timed antiphonal performance, male giving first 2 or 3 notes and female the final one (22 Slud, P. (1964) The birds of Costa Rica: distribution and ecology. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 128. Close , 7 Stiles, F. G., and A. F. Skutch (1989). A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, USA. Close , 29 Cuthbert, J. L. and D. J. Mennill (2007). The duetting behavior of Pacific Coast plain wrens. Condor 109:686–692. Close ). Calls include harsh “chur” and a rippling, tinkling “chi-chi-chi” (28 Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb (1995). A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press, New York, New York, USA. Close ).

Surprisingly poorly known and, though most of the following generalized Thryothorus details are likely correct, descriptions that unambiguously refer to the nesting of the monotypic Cantorchilus modestus herein defined are scarce. Nest elliptical, the short axis being horizontal, circular entrance hole facing slightly downwards and sometimes protected by short lintel, made from grasses and vegetable fibres, lined with plant down or feathers, and built less than 3 m above the gound in dense vegetation. Eggs 2, rarely 3, unmarked white (26 Mark, M. M. (2009). Consequences of habitat selection by two species of Thryothorus wren in a coffee agroforestry landscape. PhD thesis, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York, USA. Close , 4 Kroodsma, D. and D. Brewer (2019). Plain Wren (Cantorchilus modestus). In Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie and E. de Juana), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. pp. Available from https://www.hbw.com/node/58143. Close ).

Fledglings observed in Belize in mid-April (6 Russell, S. M. (1964). A distributional study of the birds of British Honduras. Ornithological Monographs 1. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC, USA. Close ). In Guatemala two males had enlarged testes in mid-February (18 Land, H. C. (1963) A collection of birds from the Caribbean lowlands of Guatemala. Condor 65: 49–65. Close ) and one was in breeding condition in early August (30 Land, H. C. (1962a). A collection of birds from the Sierra de las Minas, Guatemala. Wilson Bulletin 74:267-283. Close ). Apparently breeds April to September in Nicaragua (26 Mark, M. M. (2009). Consequences of habitat selection by two species of Thryothorus wren in a coffee agroforestry landscape. PhD thesis, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York, USA. Close , 31 Mark, M. M. (2013). Host-specific parasitism in the Central American Striped Cuckoo, Tapera naevia. Journal of Avian Biology 44:445–450. Close ).

None documented. Despite a record of closely related Isthmian Wren (C. elutus) being parasitized by Striped Cuckoo (Tapera naevia) (32 Kiff, L.F. and Williams, A. (1978). Host records for the Striped Cuckoo from Costa Rica. Wilson Bull.. 90(1): 138-139. Close ,33 Wetmore, A., R. F. Pasquier, and S. L. Olson (1984). The Birds of the Republic of Panama. Volume 4. Passeriformes: Hirundinidae (swallows) to Fringillidae (finches). Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 150, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA. Close ) in Costa Rica, no incidences of cuckoo parasitism were observed during monitoring of c. 100 nests of Cabanis's Wren in Nicaragua (26 Mark, M. M. (2009). Consequences of habitat selection by two species of Thryothorus wren in a coffee agroforestry landscape. PhD thesis, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York, USA. Close , 31 Mark, M. M. (2013). Host-specific parasitism in the Central American Striped Cuckoo, Tapera naevia. Journal of Avian Biology 44:445–450. Close ).

Not globally threatened. Common or abundant in much of its range. Adapts well to modified and regenerating habitat and seems to thrive in marginal habitat and agriculatural situations such as shade-grown coffee plantations (24 Greenberg, R., P. Bichier, A. C. Angon, and R. Reitsma (1997). Bird populations in shade and sun coffee plantations in central Guatemala. Conservation Biology 11(2):448-459. Close , 34 Mas, A. H. and T. V. Dietsch (2004). Linking shade coffee certification to biodiversity conservation: Butterflies and birds in Chiapas, Mexico. Ecological Applications 14:642–654. Close , 35 González-Valdivia, N. A., S. L. Arriaga-Weiss, S. Ochoa-Gaona, B. G. Ferguson, C. Kampichler, and C. Pozo (2012). Ensambles de aves diurnas a través de un gradiente de perturbación en un paisaje en el sureste de México. Acta Zoológica Mexicana (Nueva Serie) 28: 237–269. Close ).