Tag Archives: Troglodytes aedon

Troglodytes aedon ssp. guadeloupensis (Cory)

Guadeloupe House Wren (Troglodytes aedon ssp. guadeloupensis 

This form, described in 1886, occurred on the islands of Basse Terre and Grande Terre, Guadeloupe.  

The Guadeloupe House Wren reached a length of about 11,5 cm, it was quite like the Grenada House Wren (Troglodytes aedon ssp. grenadensis (Lawrence)) (see photo) or the Martinique House Wren (Troglodytes aedon ssp. martinicensis (Sclater)), differing by its shorter wings.  

The form was last recorded during field observations from 25 May through 1 June of the year 1973.:  

At 10:30 while standing at the beginning of the trail at the end of the raod a wren sang a few meters down slope then flew to a perch in bright sunlight. We observed it with 7 x 50 binoculars for 1 min at a distance of 10 m, recognizing it as a Guadaloupe House Wren before it flew into dense brush.” [2]

During these field observations at least five birds where seen, including at least four singing males.  

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References:  

[1] Charles B. Cory: Descriptions of new species of birds from the West Indies. The Auk 3(3): 381-382. 1886 
[2] John C. Barlow: Another colony of the Guadeloupe House Wren. Wilson Bulletin 90(4): 635-637. 1978 
[3] Dieter Luther: Die ausgestorbenen Vögel der Welt. Westarp Wissenschaften 1986  

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Photo: Mike’s Birds

(under creative commons license (2.0)) 
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0

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edited: 06.09.2019

Troglodytes aedon ssp. martinicensis (Sclater)

Martinique House Wren (Troglodytes aedon ssp. martinicensis)  

This bird was described in the year 1866, it was restricted to the island of Martinique, where it inhabited the native rain forests.  

The Martinique House Wren was last seen in 1886, having been exterminated by introduced rats and feral cats.  

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References:  

[1] Charles B. Cory: Descriptions of new species of birds from the West Indies. The Auk 3(3): 381-382. 1886 
[2] John C. Barlow: Another colony of the Guadeloupe House Wren. Wilson Bulletin 90(4): 635-637. 1978 

[3] Dieter Luther: Die ausgestorbenen Vögel der Welt. Westarp Wissenschaften 1986  

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edited: 06.09.2019