Microcerculus Explained

Microcerculus is a genus of birds in the wren family Troglodytidae that are endemic to Central America and tropical regions of South America.

These are small wrens with very short tails, long legs and a long bill. They forage on or near the ground in humid forests.^[1]

The genus was first mentioned in print by the English naturalist Osbert Salvin in 1861. Salvin credits the zoologist Philip Sclater for coining the name but Sclater's book on American birds was not published until 1862.^{[2] [3]} Some taxonomists credit Sclater for erecting the genus in 1862.^{[4] [5]} The type species was subsequently designated as the wing-banded wren (Microcerculus bambla) by the American naturalist Spencer Baird in 1864.^[6] The genus name is a diminutive of the Ancient Greek mikros meaning "small" and kerkos meaning "tail".^[7]

The genus contains the following species:^[8]

• Wing-banded wren (Microcerculus bambla)
• Southern nightingale-wren (Microcerculus marginatus)
• Northern nightingale-wren (Microcerculus philomela)
• Flutist wren (Microcerculus ustulatus)

Notes and References

1. Book: Ridgely . Robert S. . Tudor . Guy . 2009 . Birds of South America: Passerines . Helm Field Guides . London . Christopher Helm . 978-1-408-11342-4 . 535 .
2. Salvin . Osbert . Osbert Salvin . 1861 . Descriptions of three new species of bird from Guatemala . Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London . 202-203 [202] .
3. Book: Sclater, P.L. . Philip Sclater . 1862 . Catalogue of a Collection of American Birds . London . N. Trubner and Co. . 19 .
4. Book: Mayr . Ernst . Ernst Mayr . Greenway . James C. Jr . 1960 . Check-list of Birds of the World . 9 . Museum of Comparative Zoology . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 435 .
5. Book: Dickinson . E.C. . Edward C. Dickinson . Christidis . L. . Leslie Christidis . 2014 . The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World . 2: Passerines . 4th . Eastbourne, UK . Aves Press . 978-0-9568611-2-2 . 556 .
6. Book: Baird, S.F. . Spencer Fullerton Baird . 1864 . Review of American Birds in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution . Part 1, North and Middle America . Washington . Smithsonian Institution . 113 .
7. Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . limited . Christopher Helm . London . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 253 .
8. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . 2019 . Dapple-throats, sugarbirds, fairy-bluebirds, kinglets, hyliotas, wrens, gnatcatchers . IOC World Bird List Version 9.2 . International Ornithologists' Union . 31 August 2019 .