The trilling gnatwren, formerly long-billed gnatwren, is a very small bird in the gnatcatcher family. It found from southeast Mexico south to Ecuador and Amazonia.
Region
Central America and Amazon Basin
Typical Environment
Occurs from southeastern Mexico through Central America into northwestern South America and widely across Amazonia. Prefers humid lowland and foothill forests, especially dense thickets, vine tangles, and second growth near forest edges and streams. It uses both terra firme and seasonally flooded (várzea) forests and readily occupies disturbed forest with sufficient understory structure. Most activity is in the lower to mid understory, typically within a few meters of the ground.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The trilling gnatwren is a tiny, long-billed insect-hunter that creeps through vine tangles and dense understory, often going unnoticed despite being fairly common. Its name comes from a rapid, high-pitched, insect-like trill that carries surprisingly well. It often joins mixed-species flocks and frequently cocks and flicks its long, graduated tail while foraging.
Temperament
secretive but active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually found in pairs or small family groups and often associates with mixed-species understory flocks. Pairs maintain small territories and communicate with soft calls and trills. The nest is a small, suspended or pocket-like structure hidden in vine tangles; both sexes participate in nesting duties.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A fast, high-pitched, even or slightly accelerating trill that can last a few seconds. Calls are thin, high tsit or tik notes, often given in series when agitated.
Plumage
Fine-textured, smooth plumage with warm brown upperparts and paler underparts that range from buffy to rufous on the belly. Throat and breast often grayish to whitish with a contrasting dark eye-line and pale supercilium. Tail is long, narrow, and strongly graduated with darker central feathers and pale or whitish tips.
Diet
Feeds primarily on tiny insects and other small arthropods gleaned from leaves, twigs, and dead leaf clusters. It delicately probes and picks in vine tangles and dense foliage, often hanging or creeping along slender stems. Occasionally makes short sallies to snatch prey flushed by movement, and frequently forages alongside other small insectivores in mixed flocks.
Preferred Environment
Dense understory of humid forests, especially vine tangles, edges, and secondary growth. Often works 0.5–3 meters above the ground, favoring areas with abundant suspended dead leaves and thin branchlets.
