Bar-winged wood wren facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bar-winged wood wren |
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Henicorhina
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leucoptera
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The bar-winged wood wren (Henicorhina leucoptera) is a small, unique bird that belongs to the Troglodytidae family, also known as wrens. You can find this special bird living in the forests of southern Ecuador and northern Peru. It's known for the cool white bars on its wings, which is how it got its name!
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About the Bar-winged Wood Wren
What Does This Bird Look Like?
The bar-winged wood wren is a small bird, only about 11 centimeters (4.3 inches) long. Imagine a bird about the size of your hand!
- Its head is a light gray-brown color, which gets darker on its upper back.
- The lower part of its back and its rump (the area above its tail) are a reddish-brown.
- Its tail is black with some faint dark stripes.
- When its wings are folded, you can see two bright white stripes. These stripes are made by the tips of its wing feathers.
- It has a clear white stripe above its eye, like an eyebrow, and a broken white ring around its eye.
- There's a black patch right behind its eye, and its cheek has cool black and white streaks.
- Its chin, throat, and upper chest are off-white with some light gray spots.
- The middle of its belly is white, turning to a light cinnamon color lower down, and a darker cinnamon near its tail.
Young bar-winged wood wrens look a bit different. Their undersides are dark gray, brown, and cinnamon, and they don't have those famous white wing bars yet.
Where Does This Bird Live?
The bar-winged wood wren lives on the eastern side of the Andes mountains, specifically in southeastern Ecuador and northern Peru.
It prefers a special kind of forest called an "elfin forest." These forests are usually found on separate mountain ridges where the soil isn't very rich. In Ecuador, you can find these birds living at heights between 1,700 and 1,950 meters (about 5,577 to 6,398 feet) above sea level. In Peru, they live even higher, from 1,350 to 2,600 meters (about 4,429 to 8,530 feet) up!
How the Bar-winged Wood Wren Behaves
What Does It Eat?
The bar-winged wood wren is an insectivore, which means it mainly eats insects. Scientists don't know all the details about its diet yet, but they do know it hunts for food on or very close to the ground. It makes short flights, then pokes and picks at plants to find its insect prey.
Does It Sing?
The bar-winged wood wren has a beautiful song! It's described as a "mellow, whistled warbling phrase." Often, a pair of wrens will sing together, creating a duet. They also make different calls, like a dry "tchut" sound and a squeaky "wink."
How About Breeding?
Scientists don't know much about how or when the bar-winged wood wren breeds. They did find a young bird in July, which gives a small clue about when they might have their babies.
Is This Bird Safe?
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has looked at the bar-winged wood wren and decided it is a species of "Least Concern." This means that even though it lives in a small area and needs a specific type of habitat, it's not currently in danger of disappearing. In fact, it's considered "fairly common" in Ecuador and "plentiful" in some parts of Peru.
