Cabanis's wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.
Region
Mesoamerica
Typical Environment
Occurs from southern Mexico through Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua to Costa Rica. It favors dense scrub, second-growth, forest edges, riparian thickets, and overgrown clearings, often near human settlements. Frequently occupies coffee and cacao plantations and hedgerows, as well as brushy gardens. Typically keeps low in tangled vegetation, where it forages and nests.
Altitude Range
0–1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Cabanis's wren is a small, active wren that thrives in dense thickets and forest edges across Mesoamerica. It is famed for complex antiphonal duets between mates and for building ball-shaped nests with side entrances. This species readily uses human-modified habitats such as hedgerows and coffee plantations.
Temperament
secretive but curious; often skulking in dense cover
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats, usually low and brief between thickets
Social Behavior
Typically found in pairs or small family groups that maintain territories year-round. Pairs are strongly bonded and perform coordinated duets; they build globular nests low in thorny or dense vegetation. Multiple nests may be constructed within a territory, including roost nests.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Loud, rich, and bubbly song delivered as a precisely timed duet between male and female. Calls include sharp chips and scolding chatters when alarmed.
Plumage
Warm brown to rufous-brown upperparts with a clean whitish throat and buffy to grayish underparts; flanks and tail show fine dark barring.
Diet
Primarily takes insects and other arthropods such as beetles, larvae, spiders, and small orthopterans. Forages by gleaning from leaves, twigs, vine tangles, and near the ground. Occasionally probes leaf litter and bark crevices; may take small berries opportunistically.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in dense shrubbery, vine tangles, and secondary growth along forest edges and streams. Often forages in hedgerows, gardens, and shade-grown plantations near human habitation.
