Bird Guide

Buff-breasted Wren vs Stripe-breasted Wren

Buff-breasted Wren (Cantorchilus leucotis)

Buff-breasted Wren

Cantorchilus leucotis

Small19 gForest

Male buff-breasted wrens weigh 18.5 to 22.8 g (0.65 to 0.80 oz) and females are lighter at 16.0 to 19.5 g (0.56 to 0.69 oz), but the sexes are otherwise similar. There is considerable variation in plumage across the species' wide range. Adults' head, nape, shoulders, tail, and back are rufescent to grayish brown; the tail is heavily barred. The throat, supercilium, and the rest of the face range from whitish through gray to gray-brown. The chest is buffy and the belly more cinnamon. Fledglings are duller overall than adults and the buff of their chest is paler. Voice: Both male and female buff-breasted wrens have large song repertoires. Often a male will begin a song and the female will complete it. They also have a variety of calls.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Buff-breasted Wren
Recorded by Rosa Elena Albornoz @rosaelena_naturaleza · Song · Sarare (near Gamelotal), Simón Planas, Lara, Venezuela · CC0
Photo: Anthony Batista · CC BY 4.0
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: Buff-breasted Wren and Stripe-breasted Wren.