Wrenthrush | Zeledoniidae

Zeledonia's | Zeledonias

A family of a single species, the Wrenthrush, found only in the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama, in the dense undergrowth of cloud forest, bamboo thickets and páramo scrub, often near streams. With its round body, short wings, short tail and long legs it looked like a wren or a small thrush, but it turns out to be closely related to the New World warblers. The plumage is olive-brown above and slate grey below, with an orange-tawny crown bordered with black on either side; the sexes are alike. The wings are so short and rounded that the bird rarely flies and moves mostly by hopping over the forest floor and through the shrubbery, where it searches moss and leaf litter for insects and other small invertebrates. It is shy and secretive and is most often detected by its thin, high calls and its song, a short series of high, thin notes. The nest is a domed structure of moss with a side entrance, placed in a bank or among roots.