01 May Featured Bird: Riverside Wren (Thryothorus semibadius)

Of the 22 species of wrens found in Costa Rica, 6 are found here on the Osa Peninsula.  The Riverside wren, a common resident on the Osa, is only found in the southern pacific lowlands of Costa Rica and western Panama up to ~1,200 m.  Wrens as a whole belong to an interesting family of songbirds.  The sexes are alike and the tropical species often remain with their mate throughout the year.  They roam amongst the dense vegetation singing duets with each other in alternating phrases and one can often hear scolding notes or tell-tale wren churrs.  They can be found along streams or the edges of swampy openings in the forest, but with the arrival of the rains and sometimes seasonal flooding they will move to dense forest thickets or brushy areas away from water.  Nests are bulky globe structures with a roof and a vestibule (so to speak) not only used for raising young but also for sleeping at night any time of the year by either one individual or as many as possibly 3.  This species can be found nesting from December to August, nine months out of the year!

Click to hear the wren song :

We would like to thank Gianfranco Gomez from the Drake Bay Rainforest Chalet  http://www.drakebayholiday.com or http://www.thenighttour.com for their stunning photographs and allowing us to showcase them.  You can find them just up the coast from us in Drake Bay, Costa Rica.

We also want to thank the Osa Recording Project headed by Jeff Woodman which enables us to bring you these sounds.  We will keep you posted on the progress of this tremendous undertaking and when our CD will be available.