Salpinctes obsoletus
adult
The Rock Wren is a dumpy-bodied songbird and an excellent songster. The sexes are similar. Adults have gray-brown upperparts, toned rufous on the rump and speckled white on the crown and back in particular. The tail is brown with dark barring and a pale tip. The face has speckled gray cheeks and a pale supercilium. The throat and chest are streaked grayish white and the underparts are otherwise pale, subtly suffused with orange-buff. Juveniles are similar to adults but with more uniform, less speckled upperparts.
In the north of its range, the Rock Wren is present as a breeding species mainly from May to September. Farther south it is present year-round, numbers boosted outside the breeding season as northern birds head south; the winter range extends to Mexico. There is also some altitudinal migration. Rock Wrens forage with a bouncing gait, and breeding birds create a pavement of flattened stones that leads to the nest entrance.
adult
FACT FILE
LENGTH 6 in (15 cm)
FOOD Invertebrates
HABITAT Dry stony habitats with scree, boulders, and pebbles
STATUS Locally common summer visitor and partial resident
VOICE Song comprises various trilling whistles, many phrases repeated several times in succession, and a rattle. Calls include a shrill ch-tsee
