Bird Guide

Bay Wren vs Stripe-breasted Wren

Bay Wren (Cantorchilus nigricapillus)

Bay Wren

Cantorchilus nigricapillus

Small24 gForest

The bay wren is 12.6 to 15.6 cm (5.0 to 6.1 in) long. Eight specimens from Panama weighed 17.7 to 26.3 g (0.62 to 0.93 oz). Adults of the nominate subspecies have a black face with a narrow white supercilium, a partial eyering, and a white patch at the back of the cheek. Their crown and nape are black and the rest of the upperparts are rich chestnut. The tail is a rich brown with bold black bars. The throat and breast are white, transitioning to rufous brown on the lower belly and flanks. Black bars cross the underparts from the breast to the vent area. Voice: The bay wren's song is loud, "a rapid repetition of clear, rich-toned, slurred, ringing whistles, trills, and warbles" sometimes given antiphonally. The species has a number of calls.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Bay Wren
Recorded by Beth Cottam · Song · Finca Tres Equis - Farm and Forest (near Tres Equis), Turrialba, Cartago Province, Costa Rica · CC0
Photo: andrew2285 · CC0
Stripe-breasted Wren (Cantorchilus thoracicus)

Stripe-breasted Wren

Cantorchilus thoracicus

Small18 gShrubland

The stripe-breasted wren is 11.5 to 12.5 cm (4.5 to 4.9 in) long and has a mean weight of 17.6 g (0.62 oz). Adults have a gray-brown crown, dark umber shoulders, back, and rump, and a dull blackish tail with buffy bars. Their face and sides of the neck have white streaks over a blackish base. Their throat and chest have black, white, and gray lengthwise streaks that stop abruptly at the plain olive-brown lower belly. Juveniles' upperparts are more russet than the adults' and the throat and chest have grayish brown, white, and dusky stripes. Voice: The stripe-breasted wren has two very different song types. One, which is apparently sung only by the male, is " a uniform series of whistles on one note" similar to that of some small owls. The other, sung by both sexes antiphonally, is "a cheerful series of liquid bubbling whistles." The species also has a variety of calls.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Andre Knocklein · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Bay Wren and Stripe-breasted Wren.