Tepui Wren Troglodytes rufulus Scientific name definitions

Tepui Wren is a small Troglodytes wren of southern Venezuela and adjacent Brazil and Guyana.  Like many other unique species of the region, the wren is geographically restricted to its namesake tepuis, the massive table-top mountains that are isolated in northern South America away from the Andes.  Due in part to ancient sandstone connections to other highlands on the continent that have largely eroded away, the tepuis are havens for biological endemism.  Specifically, Tepui Wren favors edge habitats from 1000-2800 meters in elevation.  It is similar to the Mountain Wren in appearance, and is dark rufous brown above and paler brown below with black barring on the wings and tail and a buffy supercilium.  The song of the Tepui Wren, a rapid jumble of high pitched notes, is useful for locating this secretive species that skulks around on the ground.

c. 11·5–12 cm; 13–18 g (race fulvigularis) (1 Lentino, M., L. Pérez, G. Barrowclough, and P. Sweet (1998). Notas sobre las aves de la cima del Auyantepuy, Parque Nacional Canaima, estado Bolívar, Venezuela. Acta Terramaris 11:1–12. Close ). Nominate race has grey lores, ochraceous-buff super­cilium, dark brown postocular area; crown and upperparts unmarked chestnut-brown, slightly more rufescent on lower back and rump; primaries and secondaries rather obscurely barred rufous-brown and blackish brown on outer webs; rectrices dark rufous-brown with narrow blackish bars; throat and breast ochraceous-buff deepening to rufous-brown on sides, flanks and rear belly; vent buffy brown, barred dark brown; eye dark brown; bill black, silvery base of lower mandible; legs medium grey. Sexes similar. Juvenile darker, with underparts scaled. Race wetmorei similar to nominate, but central underparts grey; duidae has whitish underparts, more pronounced bars on tail; yavii has whiter underparts; fulvigularis darker and less rufous than nominate; marahuacae similar to wetmorei but smaller, with very grey belly.

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.