Southern House Wren

Southern House Wren

Troglodytes musculus

Silhouette: T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Lauca National Park

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%

33 Verified sightings at Lauca National Park From 2019 to 2026
64,273 In all 83 parks
December Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

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

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Tijuca National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~80%
2 Tierra del Fuego National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~70%
3 Serra dos Órgãos National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~70%
4 El Impenetrable National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~60%
5 Machalilla National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~60%
6 Iguazú National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~60%
7 Torres del Paine National Park 🇨🇱 Chile
~60%
8 Amboró National Park 🇧🇴 Bolivia
~60%
9 Chagres National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~60%
10 Iguaçu National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~60%
11 Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park 🇨🇱 Chile
~60%
12 Chapada Diamantina National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~60%
13 Itatiaia National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~60%
14 Iberá National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~50%
15 Main Ridge Forest Reserve 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago
~50%
16 Coiba National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~50%
17 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~50%
18 Cusuco National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
~50%
19 Nahuel Huapi National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~50%
20 El Palmar National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~50%
21 Marino Ballena National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~50%
22 Tayrona National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~50%
23 Celaque National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
~40%
24 Farallones de Cali National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~40%
25 Piedras Blancas National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~40%
26 Serra da Canastra National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~40%
27 Arenal Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~40%
28 La Tigra National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
~40%
29 Parque Natural Metropolitano 🇵🇦 Panama
~40%
30 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
~40%
31 Chirripó National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~40%
32 Sierra de la Macarena National Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~40%
33 Henri Pittier National Park 🇻🇪 Venezuela
~40%
34 Lago de Yojoa 🇭🇳 Honduras
~30%
35 San Lorenzo Protected Forest 🇵🇦 Panama
~30%
36 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
37 Tenorio Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
38 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~30%
39 Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
~30%
40 Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~30%
41 Bastimentos Island National Marine Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~30%
42 Volcán Barú National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~30%
43 Chingaza National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~30%
44 Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
45 El Triunfo 🇲🇽 Mexico
~20%
46 Yasuní National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~20%
47 Corcovado National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
48 Cahuita National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
49 Manuel Antonio National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
50 Manu National Park 🇵🇪 Peru
~20%
51 Caroni Swamp 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago
~20%
52 Chapada dos Guimarães National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
53 Pico Bonito National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
~20%
54 Cañón del Sumidero National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
55 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
56 Utría National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~10%
57 Anavilhanas National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
58 Poás Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
59 Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~10%
60 Irazú Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
61 Rincón de la Vieja National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
62 Emas National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
63 Celestún Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
64 Tortuguero National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
65 Darién National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
66 Tambopata National Reserve 🇵🇪 Peru
~10%
67 Amacayacu National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~10%
68 Podocarpus National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~10%
69 Biotopo Cerro Cahuí 🇬🇹 Guatemala
~10%
70 Península Valdés 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
71 Los Nevados National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~10%
72 Carara National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
73 Lauca National Park 🇨🇱 Chile
<5%
74 Calakmul Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
75 Masaya Volcano National Park 🇳🇮 Nicaragua
<5%
76 Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary 🇧🇿 Belize
<5%
77 Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
78 Los Quetzales National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
79 Tikal National Park 🇬🇹 Guatemala
<5%
80 Santa Rosa National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
81 Las Baulas Marine National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
82 Palo Verde National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
83 Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Santiago 🇨🇱 Chile
~90%
2 Natal 🇧🇷 Brazil
~80%
3 Caracas 🇻🇪 Venezuela
~80%
4 Rio de Janeiro 🇧🇷 Brazil
~80%
5 Bogota 🇨🇴 Colombia
~70%
6 Cordoba 🇦🇷 Argentina
~70%
7 Buenos Aires 🇦🇷 Argentina
~70%
8 Niterói 🇧🇷 Brazil
~70%
9 Rosario 🇦🇷 Argentina
~70%
10 Manaus 🇧🇷 Brazil
~70%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Southern House Wren in Lauca National Park?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Southern House Wren sighting in Lauca National Park on a given day, based on 33 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 89th most-seen of the 112 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 Lauca National Park?

December

In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Southern House Wren in Lauca National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–April, June–August and October–November, the lowest months. That is one of Lauca National Park's wettest months, with about 75 mm of rain against almost none in May.

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.

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 Lauca National Park (33 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.

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