Stripe-breasted wren facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Stripe-breasted wren
In Costa Rica
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Troglodytidae
Genus:	Cantorchilus
Species:	C. thoracicus
Binomial name
Cantorchilus thoracicus (Salvin, 1865)
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Synonyms
Thryothorus thoracicus

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The stripe-breasted wren (scientific name: Cantorchilus thoracicus) is a small bird. It belongs to the wren family, called Troglodytidae. You can find this bird in Central American countries. These include Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.

About the Stripe-breasted Wren

The stripe-breasted wren is a unique bird. It is the only species in its specific group. Sometimes, people thought it was the same species as the stripe-throated wren. These two wrens are very closely related.

What Does the Stripe-breasted Wren Look Like?

This wren is about 11.5 to 12.5 centimeters (4.5 to 5 inches) long. It weighs about 17.6 grams (0.6 ounces).

Adult wrens have a gray-brown top of the head. Their shoulders, back, and rump are a dark brownish color. Their tail is a dull black with light brown stripes.

Their face and neck sides have white stripes on a dark background. Their throat and chest have black, white, and gray stripes. These stripes stop suddenly at their plain olive-brown lower belly.

Young wrens have more reddish-brown upper parts than adults. Their throat and chest have grayish-brown, white, and dark stripes.

Where Does the Stripe-breasted Wren Live?

The stripe-breasted wren lives on the Caribbean side of Central America. You can find it from eastern Honduras down through northeastern Nicaragua. It also lives in eastern Costa Rica and into Panama. It almost reaches the Canal Zone.

This bird likes to live in thick plants. It prefers areas at the edges of woodlands. It also lives in clearings and along streams. In Costa Rica, you might see it in cacao and shade coffee farms. It lives from sea level up to about 1,100 meters (3,600 feet) high.

Stripe-breasted Wren Behavior

How Does the Stripe-breasted Wren Find Food?

The stripe-breasted wren usually looks for food in low, thick plants. We don't know everything it eats. But we do know it eats insects and spiders.

Reproduction and Nesting

Stripe-breasted wrens build their nests between March and July in Costa Rica. Both the male and female birds help build the nest.

Their nest is special because it has two rooms! It hangs over a branch. One room has an entrance that faces downwards. The nest is made of plant fibers and covered with moss. It is usually built between 1.5 and 6 meters (5 to 20 feet) above the ground. A female wren usually lays two or three eggs.

What Does the Stripe-breasted Wren Sound Like?

The stripe-breasted wren has two very different types of songs. One song is sung only by the male. It sounds like a steady series of whistles on one note. Some small owls make a similar sound.

The other song is sung by both male and female wrens. They sing back and forth to each other. This song is a happy series of bubbly whistles. The wrens also make many different calls.

Is the Stripe-breasted Wren Safe?

The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has looked at the stripe-breasted wren. They say it is a species of "Least Concern." This means it is not currently in danger of disappearing.

This bird seems to be able to live in places changed by humans, like farms. It also lives in some protected areas.