
Southern House Wren
Troglodytes musculus
Silhouette: T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyTroglodytidae (Wrens)
- GenusTroglodytes (Troglodytes Wrens)
- SpeciesTroglodytes musculus (Southern House Wren)
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
About the Southern House Wren
The southern house wren (Troglodytes musculus) is a very small passerine bird in the wren family Troglodytidae. It is found from southern Mexico to southern Chile and southern Argentina. The name troglodytes means "hole dweller", and is a reference to the bird's tendency to disappear into crevices when hunting insects or to seek shelter. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the northern house wren (Troglodytes aedon).
The southern house wren was formally described in 1823 by the German naturalist Johann Andreas Naumann under the binomial name Troglodytes musculus. He specified the type locality as the state of Bahia in eastern Brazil. The specific epithet is Latin meaning "little mouse". The southern house wren was formerly considered to be part of the house wren complex that also included the northern house wren and six insular forms. The southern house wren was split from the complex based on the deep genetic divergence, differences in vocalizations and differences in morphology.
Twenty-one subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
Sounds
Recording0:15
Guatemala · 2026
© Julia Carr · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording1:00
Brazil · 2026
© Márcio Alves Cardoso · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:08
Argentina · 2026
© ignaciocostagliola · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recent sightings of Southern House Wren in Calakmul Biosphere Reserve
LIVEiNaturalistGlobal Distribution
Parks Where Found
Cities Where Found
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santiago | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 2 | Natal | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Caracas | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 4 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Bogota | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 6 | Cordoba | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 7 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 8 | Niterói | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | Rosario | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 10 | Manaus | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Closest Relatives at Calakmul Biosphere Reserve
Before you go
What are the chances of seeing a Southern House Wren in Calakmul Biosphere Reserve?
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Southern House Wren sighting in Calakmul Biosphere Reserve on a given day, based on 32 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 174th most-seen of the 271 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
When is the best time to see a Southern House Wren in Calakmul Biosphere Reserve?
April
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Southern House Wren in Calakmul Biosphere Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in March, May, August and October–January, the lowest months. That is one of Calakmul Biosphere Reserve's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain against 130 mm in June.
What time of day is best to see a Southern House Wren?
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern House Wren sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Is Calakmul Biosphere Reserve the best place to see a Southern House Wren?
74th of 83
Of the 83 parks where we can rate Southern House Wren sightings, Calakmul Biosphere Reserve ranks 74th at under 5%. The best odds are in Tijuca National Park (Brazil, about 80%), Tierra del Fuego National Park (Argentina, about 70%) and Serra dos Órgãos National Park (Brazil, about 70%). All parks ranked.
Which relatives of the Southern House Wren live in Calakmul Biosphere Reserve?
Same family: Troglodytidae
The closest relatives of the Southern House Wren that you can see in Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (family Troglodytidae, Wrens) are Spot-breasted Wren (about 40%), White-bellied Wren (about 30%) and Carolina Wren (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
Where does the Southern House Wren sighting chance come from?
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern House Wren is recorded against all the birds logged in Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (32 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.