Wrentit

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Wrentit
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Sylviidae Genus: Chamaea Species: C. fasciata
Binomial name
Chamaea fasciata (Gambel, 1845)

The Wrentit, Chamaea fasciata, is a small bird that lives in chaparral and bushland. It is the only species in the genus Chamaea (Gambel, 1847).

It is the subject of much taxonomic debate, having been placed in many different families by different authors for as long as it has been known to science. Its name reflects the uncertainty, and its resemblance to both tits and wrens.

The Wrentit has been variously placed in its own family, the Chamaeidae, with the long-tailed tits (Aegithalidae), the tits and chickadees (Paridae), the Old World warblers (Sylviidae), and most recently with the Old World babblers (Timaliidae). The American Ornithologists' Union places the Wrentit in the latter family, giving it the distinction of being the only babbler known from the New World.

Contents 1 Description 2 Behavior and Range 3 References 4 External links 5 Further reading 5.1 Book 5.2 Articles

[edit] Description

The Wrentit is a small (15-cm) bird with uniform dull olive, brown, or grayish plumage. It has short wings and a long tail often held high (hence the comparison to wrens). It has a short bill and a pale iris. Given its retiring nature and loud voice, the Wrentit is more likely to be detected by its call than by sight.

[edit] Behavior and Range

The Wrentit is a sedentary (non-migratory) resident of a narrow strip of coastal habitat in western coast of North America, being found from Oregon south to Baja California. It is usually restricted to scrub and certain types of woodland. It nests in 1m high shrubs such as poison oak, coyote bush and Californian blackberry. Logging and other changes in habitat have led to this species expanding its range recently, particularly northwards.

Wrentits mate for life, forming pair bonds only a few months after hatching. Both sexes participate in building the nest, a four-stage process that takes about two weeks. The three or four eggs are incubated for 14 days, again by both sexes. The chicks fledge after 15 days (at which stage they are unable to fly) and are fed by their parents for another 40 days.

The Wrentit feeds by skulking through dense scrub gleaning exposed insects found by sight. It feeds primarily on beetles, caterpillars, bugs, and ants, but also takes small berries and seeds.

[edit] References

• BirdLife International (2004). Chamaea fasciata. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 05 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
• Geupel, G. R., and G. Ballard. 2002. Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata) in The Birds of North America, vol. 17, no. 654 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

[edit] External links

• IndieSticks.com HD Video

[edit] Further reading

[edit] Book

• Geupel, G. R., and G. Ballard. 2002. Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata). In The Birds of North America, No. 654 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

[edit] Articles

• Alexander JD, Seavy NE & Hosten PE. (2007). Using conservation plans and bird monitoring to evaluate ecological effects of management: An example with fuels reduction activities in southwest Oregon. Forest Ecology & Management. vol 238, no 1-3. p. 375-383.

• Baker M, Nur N & Geupel GR. (1995). Correcting biased estimates of dispersal and survival due to limited study area: Theory and an application using wrentits. Condor. vol 97, no 3. p. 663-674.

• Ballard G, Geupel GR & Nur N. (2004). Influence of mist-netting intensity on demographic investigations of avian populations. Studies in Avian Biology. vol 29, p. 21-27.

• Baptista LF. (1972). Cowbird Parasitism on the White-Crowned Sparrow and Wren-Tit in the San-Francisco Bay Area. Auk. vol 89, no 4. p. 879-882.

• Barhoum DN & Burns KJ. (2002). Phylogenetic relationships of the Wrentit based on mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences. Condor. vol 104, no 4. p. 740-749.

• Bennett KD. (2004). Continuing the debate on the role of Quaternary environmental change for macroevolution. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B Biological Sciences. vol 359, no 1442. p. 295-303.

• Browning MR. (1992). A new subspecies of Chamaea fasciata (Wrentit) from Oregon (Aves: Timaliinae). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. vol 105, no 3. p. 414-419.

• Burns KJ & Barhoum DN. (2006). Population-level history of the wrentit (Chamaea fasciata): Implications for comparative phylogeography in the California Floristic Province. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. vol 38, no 1. p. 117-129.

• Cibois A. (2003). Sylvia is a babbler: taxonomic implications for the families Sylviidae and Timaliidae. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. vol 123, no 4. p. 257-261.

• Eberhardt C & Baptista LF. (1977). Intraspecific and Interspecific Song Mimesis in California USA Song Sparrows. Bird Banding. vol 48, no 3. p. 193-205.

• Flannery ME & Gardali T. (2000). Incomplete first prebasic molt in the Wrentit. Western Birds. vol 31, no 4. p. 249-251.

• Fleischer RC, Boarman WI & Cody ML. (1985). Asynchrony of Song Series in Bewicks Wren Thyromanes-Bewickii and Wren Tit Chamaea-Fasciata. Animal Behaviour. vol 33, no 2. p. 674-676.

• Geupel GR & Desante DF. (1990). Incidence and Determinants of Double Brooding in Wren-Tits. Condor. vol 92, no 1. p. 67-75.

• Nur N, Geupel GR & Ballard G. (2004). Estimates of adult survival, capture probability, and recapture probability: Evaluating and validating constant-effort mist netting. Studies in Avian Biology. vol 29, p. 63-70.

• Patten MA & Bolger DT. (2003). Variation in top-down control of avian reproductive success across a fragmentation gradient. Oikos. vol 101, no 3. p. 479-488.

• Preston KL & Rotenberry JT. (2006). Independent effects of food and predator-mediated processes on annual fecundity in a songbird. Ecology. vol 87, no 1. p. 160-168.

• Preston KL & Rotenberry JT. (2006). The role of food, nest predation, and climate in timing of Wrentit reproductive activities. Condor. vol 108, no 4. p. 832-841.

• Ralph CJ, Paton PWC & Taylor CA. (1991). Habitat Association Patterns of Breeding Birds and Small Mammals in Douglas-Fir-Hardwood Stands in Northwestern California and Southwestern Oregon. U S Forest Service General Technical Report PNW. vol 285, p. 379-393.

• Sibley CG & Ahlquist JE. (1982). The Relationships of the Wren Tit Chamaea-Fasciata as Indicated by DNA-DNA Hybridization. Condor. vol 84, no 1. p. 40-44.

• Silkey M, Nur N & Geupel GR. (1999). The use of mist-net capture rates to monitor annual variation in abundance: A validation study. Condor. vol 101, no 2. p. 288-298.