Canyon Wren

Catherpes mexicanus

Order PASSERIFORMES - Family TROGLODYTIDAE

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

Found throughout the arid mountain country and canyonlands of western North America, the Canyon Wren nests and feeds in narrow rock crevices. Often, it announces its presence by its beautiful and distinctive song, a loud cascade of musical whistles.

Cool Facts

• The vertebral column of the Canyon Wren is attached higher on the skull than it is on most birds. This modification, along with a slightly flattened skull, allows a foraging Canyon Wren to thrust its bill forward into tight crevices without bumping its head.
• The Canyon Wren can climb up, down, and across rocks. A low center of gravity, large feet, and sharp claws aid in such locomotion.

• The Canyon Wren is not known to drink water. It probably gets all the water it needs from its insect prey. It has been seen foraging along the sides of desert springs, but not drinking.

Description

• Size: 11-15 cm (4-6 in)
• Wingspan: 19 cm (7 in)
• Weight: 9-18 g (0.32-0.64 ounces)

• Small songbird.
• Brown body.
• White throat.
• Bright rufous, barred tail.
• Long, thin, decurved bill.

• Crown and upperparts brown with variable fine white spotting.
• Flanks rufous with faint black barring.
• Tail bright rufous with thin black bars.
• Head appears small and tapered toward the long, decurved bill.

Sex Differences

Sexes alike, males slightly larger.

Immature

Juvenile similar to adult, but upperparts appear more textured and less spotted, and flanks lack barring.

Similar Species

• Rock Wren is much paler, with a grayish brown back, a streaked breast, and a different voice.

Sound

Song is a musical descending cascade of liquid notes. Call is a loud, metallic buzz.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Resident from southern British Columbia southward through the Pacific and Mountain states to Baja California and much of the Mexican interior, eastward to southwestern South Dakota and central Texas.

Habitat

Cliffs, canyons, rocky outcrops, and boulder piles.

Food

Spiders and insects.

Behavior

Foraging

Gleans spiders and insects from rock surfaces, often from tight crevices.

Reproduction

Nest Type

A cup made of twigs and other coarse material, lined with lichens, soft plant material, wool, webs, or feathers. In caverns, crevices, or attached to rock face, protected from above by ledge or shelf.

Egg Description

White, with small, faint reddish-brown dots.

Clutch Size

3-7 eggs.

Condition at Hatching

Entirely featherless, pink, with eyes closed.

Conservation Status

Not well monitored. May be declining in some areas.

Other Names

Railleur, Troglodyte des canons (French)
Saltapared risquero, Saltapared barraquero (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Jones, S. L., and J. Scott Dieni. 1995. Canyon Wren (Catherpes mexicanus). In The Birds of North America, No. 197 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.