The Wren is a plain but muscular little bird. Coincidentally, it also has the distinction of being the bird after which all other members of its family are named. Well, at least it’s officially named in the English language.
If we think of the many vocal and equally attractive members of its family that beautify tangles, cacti, rocks, and other places full of nooks and crannies, I’m sure hundreds of local cultures in The Americas also had many names for wrens.
I wonder how many names refer to their loud, boisterous nature? How many have names synonymous with gnomes and little forest elves? Are some named after their place of residence? Others because of their behavior?
Here in Costa Rica, wrens may be known as “cucaracheros” (cockroachers) and the Rufous-naped Wren is the “chico-piojo’ or “louse kid”. I know, it sounds weird but not when you hear Rufous sing- naped Wrens. With a little imagination, their vocalizations make it kind of sound like they’re exclaiming funky names. As far as cockroaches go, that makes sense, I bet the hard bugs feature in many diets of the wren.
In Costa Rica, there must have been many names for local representatives of Troglodytidae. More than a few wrens crawled, sang, and raked leaves in these lands. Like two dozen species!
Yes, if we include Isthmian with Cabanis, there would be 23 but that’s still a heck of a lot of wren going on. This is more than the number of wrens in the entire USA and about the same as Ecuador. Our few dozen wren species don’t quite match the wren diversity of Mexico or Colombia (30 plus species in each country!) but think of the 24 wren species packed into West Virginia and you get the picture.
How Do So Many Wrens Survive in Costa Rica?
Our local abundance of wrens is probably explained by some of the same reasons why so many other bird species inhabit this birdy land. Some wrens like lowlands, others like mountains, some prefer dry or moist forests, and other wrens prefer humid conditions.
Then there are wrens that have evolved to live in one part of the mountains and vice versa.
I suspect the bug factor plays another role. The heavy rain and humidity means lots of bugs hiding in dead leaf clumps, abundant foliage, and generally living in the many hiding places provided by the insane amount of tropical plant.
In other words, Costa Rica is an ideal place for wrens, some of which are adapted to different types of secondary growth.
Wren Hotspots
Are there really wren hotspots? Does anyone really care to visit a wren hotspot? These are valid questions, at least for the serious wren-chasing birder.
As a lover of biodiversity and all things avian, I, for one, enjoy visiting any and all birding hotspots. If I see more wrens, I’m all for it! I want to see those creeping feathered characters but maybe even more so, I want to hear them.
The Wrens are natural masters of the vocal trade and I wanted to enter their realms and absorb the music. You’ll hear a wren or two wherever you go birding in Costa Rica but to experience a true wren orchestra, you have to greet the dawn at wren hotspots.
Around Carara, Rufous-naped Wrens and Cabanis’s Wrens laugh from dry, open and crowded places. Don’t forget about House Wrens and if it’s dry enough, Banded Wrens will also sing from the woods. In riparian zones and viny forest edges, Rufous-breasted Wrens and Rufous-and-white Wrens vie for center stage.
Personally, I think the quick hollow whistling songs of the Rufous-and-white are hard to beat but the Rufous-breasted never stops trying. Enter the rainforest and you will hear the loud and fast songs of Riverside Wrens. Listen closely and you may even hear the high-pitched descending notes floating off the cliff. It’s hard to see but at least you’ll know there’s a Scaly-breasted Wren nearby.
That’s eight wrens for the band but still room for one more! From the dense, humid thicket, the captivating Black-bellied Wren gives voice to a total of 9 wren species that rock the habitats around Carara!
The Carara ecotone is pretty good for the wren but it’s not the only wren hotspot in Costa Rica.
Travel to the other side of the mountains and we find some great spots too. In particular, the foothill rainforest stands out. Go birding around Arenal or Nectar and Pollen or other similar places and you’ll hear Bay Wrens chattering over the edge, cool Black-throated Wrens singing from an older, dark tangle, and the confusing songs of White-breasted Wood Wrens and Stripe-breasted Wrens in the forest.
High in the trees, banded Wrens join mixed flocks, investigate bromeliads, and make strange, rapid calls. Below, a Nightingale Wren sings like a happy go lucky person lost in the woods. If you’re lucky, you might even hear the cool and musical notes of the gnome Song Wren.
Step out into the forest and you might be greeted by the voices of House and Canebrake Wrens. That also makes 9 wren species! Not to mention, it doesn’t take much to go up a notch and add two more wrens to the total.
Head north and you’ll reach the third wren hotspot in Costa Rica- Cano Negro. In the forests, woods, and scrub of Canno Negro, wren diversity also reaches an impressive 9 species. The roster includes the same birds as the foothill rainforest but swaps the Nightingale Wren for the Spot-breasted Wren.
Rare Wrens in Costa Rica
Although some are naturally difficult to see, most wrens in Costa Rica are fairly common. With a little patience and the occasional wave of small flying insects, you’ll eventually find eyes on the prize wren.
However, there are some species that are especially difficult to see or just rare. In a family of well-known skulkers, the Nightingale and Scaly-breasted Wrens excel. These two birds are relatively easy to hear but very difficult to see!
Yeah, you’d think they were doing the usual wren thing looking for bugs between chats but they weren’t. This pair of wwird little birds may be too refined for such mundane behavior, too shy, preferring to be invisible, or have cloaking devices unknown to us.
Whatever the reason, these solitary birds are very difficult to spot. It can be done but you have to call them or track the singing birds and test your patience. Since it’s technically illegal to use playback in officially protected areas, you’ll need to go the ultra-patient route there.
Song Wrens are also tricky. Bird in the right places for them and they’re not too bad but despite their beautiful voices, these little birds aren’t really fans of the limelight. They like Army Ants! Look for the magnificent and voracious predators where Song Wrens live and you will see the birds.
Now the wrens mentioned above may be hard to see but they are not rare. Timberline Wren? Also not rare but yes, you have to climb the tops of the mountains and they can be sluggish too.
The rare label goes to the Grass Wren and, most notably, the Rock Wren. In Costa Rica, Grass Wrens are very endemic and probably endangered. Although we birders have found them in more places than expected, regardless of their sedge and wet, grassy field habitats they are few in number and under constant threat.
As for the Rock Wren, although the adventure to see it would be wonderful, you are better off looking for the bird elsewhere. At least that would be an easier endeavor. In Costa Rica, all we can do is assume that some live in some rocky areas in northern Guanacaste.
Assume it is necessary because no one has reported a Rock Wren in Costa Rica in several years, even with experienced birdwatching guides relatively close to where Rock Wrens should be. I think they are still out there but probably in very few places and/or remote areas away from the roads.
Want to see a wren in Costa Rica? We got a lot and it wasn’t your The Wren or Winter or Pacific Wrens either! More like babblerish birds with cool feather patterns and serious chords. Use the Costa Rica Birds Field Guide app to learn their songs and prepare for your Costa Rica birding trip. Find birds in Costa Rica and support this blog on “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”.
Hope to see you birding here, most of all, hope to hear the local wren orchestra.
