Canyon Wren (Catherpes mexicanus)

Overlapping home ranges and microhabitat partitioning among Canyon Wrens (Catherpes mexicanus) and Rock Wrens (Salpinctes obsoletus)

“…Rock and Canyon wrens are grouped basally in the wren phylogeny, and in western North America are each other's closest relatives (Barker et al 2004). While it is known that Rock Wrens sometimes nest within Canyon Wren territories (Jones and Dieni 1995), there is little information on the degree to which interspecific home ranges overlap and GIS-based estimates of home range size and overlap are lacking for both species. Canyon Wren home ranges are predicted to be large according to ecological and life history traits including small song repertoires and year-round residency Dieni 1995, Benedict et al 2013).…”

Small Song Repertoires and High Rate of Song-Type Sharing among Canyon Wrens

“…in his classic Life Histories of North American Birds Bent (1948) described it this way: "We saw or heard a long list of interesting birds, but the gem of them all was the Canyon Wren. its wild, joyous strain of sweet, silvery notes greeted us as we passed some steep cliffs; they seemed to reverberate from one cliff to another, to fill the whole canyon with delightful melody and to add a fitting charm to the wild surroundings" Though the Canyon Wren's song is iconic, it has not been widely studied (Jones and dieni 1995). Existing descriptions suggest that the species' vocal repertoire includes contact calls, songs of both the male and female, and less frequent vocalizations such as alarm calls, begging calls, and subsong from young birds dieni 1995, Spencer 2012).…”

“…Here we provide a comprehensive description of the song of the Canyon Wren, focusing on a population in northern Colorado, with additional sampling from across the species' range. The Canyon Wren is resident throughout its range and monogamous pairs occupy territories year round (Jones and dieni 1995). pairs are often widely spaced, and may or may not directly contact a neighboring territory (Jones and dieni 1995).…”

“…The Canyon Wren is resident throughout its range and monogamous pairs occupy territories year round (Jones and dieni 1995). pairs are often widely spaced, and may or may not directly contact a neighboring territory (Jones and dieni 1995). Current research suggests that males sing primarily in the spring and that their song functions in species identification and territory defense (Jones and dieni 1995, Benedict et al 2012, Rose and phan 2013.…”

“…pairs are often widely spaced, and may or may not directly contact a neighboring territory (Jones and dieni 1995). Current research suggests that males sing primarily in the spring and that their song functions in species identification and territory defense (Jones and dieni 1995, Benedict et al 2012, Rose and phan 2013. The goals of our study were to describe (1) the types of songs sung by male and female Canyon Wrens, (2) the size of individuals' song repertoires, (3) the pattern of delivery of the Canyon Wren's song, (4) the degree of song-type sharing within one population and (5) the persistence of song types across the species' geographic range.…”