Wing banded Wren (Microcerculus bambla)

[order] Passeriformes | [family] Troglodytidae | [latin] Microcerculus bambla | [UK] Wing-banded Wren | [FR] Troglodyte bambla | [DE] Weissbinden-Zaunkonig | [ES] Ratona Bandeada | [IT] Scricciolo di Bambla | [NL] Witband-winterkoning

Dark brown wren with a conspicuous white wing bar. Sides of the head grey and wings and short tail black. Underparts grey with the throat and chine almost white. The feathers are barred giving it a scaled look. Sexes are alike, bill is black. While running the ground it appears to be a very small rail.

is found in Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.

Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

We describe for the first time the nests of the Wing-banded Wren (Microcerculus bambla),Nests are built in abandoned termite mounds attached to the undersides of fallen trees. The chamber of the nest is lined with a mat of dead leaf fragments. Clutch size probably 1-3 eggs. In one study both nests contained one nestling that disappeared, possibly due to fledging, within a few days of nest discovery. The nests are probably excavated by Puffbirds (Bucconidae) or Jacamars (Galhulidae), so the Wing-banded Wren, apparently are secondary cavity nesters. No data on incubation or fledging period available.

Forages in dense rainforeast for insects on the ground. Runs (no hopping) catching insects with its short tail always cocked. It specializes in hunting in or around rotten logs and fallen branches. Will sometimes join mixed species flocks.

This species has a large range, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 1,600,000 km