The tepui wren (Troglodytes rufulus) is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela, where it inhabits high tablelands called tepuis.[1] [2]
The tepui wren has often been treated a subspecies of mountain wren (Troglodytes solstitialis).[2] The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (SACC/AOS) considers those two, ochraceous wren (T. achraceus), rufous-browed wren (T. rufociliatus), and Santa Marta wren (T. monticola) to be a superspecies.[3]
The tepui wren has six subspecies:[1]
The nominate subspecies of tepui wren is 11.5to long and weighs 13to. The adult's crown and upperparts are chestnut brown that is slightly redder on the lower back and rump. Its tail is dark reddish brown with thin blackish bars. It has a yellowish buff supercilium and a dark brown streak behind the eye. The throat and breast are yellowish buff; the sides, flanks, and lower belly are reddish brown; and the vent area is buffy brown with dark brown bars. The juvenile is darker with scaly underparts. T. r. fulvigularis is darker and less reddish than the nominate. T. r. yavii has white underparts. T. r. duidae has whitish underparts and the bars on its tail are more pronounced. T. r. wetmorei is the most similar to the nominate, differing only by having gray central underparts. T. r. marahuacae is similar to wetmorei but is smaller and the entire belly is gray.[2]
The subspecies of tepui wren are distributed thus:[1] [2]
The tepui wren inhabits humid forest, forest edges, and bushland on isolated flat-topped mountains called tepuis. In elevation it ranges from 1000to but is mostly found in the narrower band between 1600and.[2]
The tepui wren primarily forages on the ground or in low vegetation. Its diet has not been documented.[2]
No information about the tepui wren's breeding phenology has been published.[2]
The tepui wren's song is "a series of high, thin whistled twitters" that may run together or be in separate phrases.[2]
The IUCN has assessed the tepui wren as being of Least Concern. Though its population has not been quantified, it is locally common and many of the inhabited tepuis are protected preserves.[2]