Birdfinding.info ⇒ Rare, endangered, and highly localized, the aberrant Zapata Wren is known only from a handful of sites in the Zapata Swamp. It can be found reliably along the canals at La Turba and at Santo Tomás.
Zapata Wren
Ferminia cerverai
Endemic to the Zapata Swamp in western Cuba, where it inhabits seasonally flooded freshwater sawgrass marshes with shrubby islands. In 2017, its total population was estimated at 600-1,700 mature individuals.
Identification
A medium-large wren with extraordinary short, rounded wings, a long, broad, rounded tail, and a heavy, bicolored, black-and-yellow bill.
The upperparts are heavily barred black-and-brown. The sides, flanks, lower belly, vent, and undertail are also heavily barred, while the throat and breast are mostly unmarked whitish-gray or tan. It has a short post-ocular brow that is often indistinct.
Zapata Wren, singing. (Matanzas, Cuba; March 12, 2019.) © David Ascanio
Zapata Wren, showing short wings, heavy barring on upperparts, flanks, and undertail, heavy bill, and short eyebrow. (La Turba, Matanzas, Cuba; October 22, 2018.) © Sebastian Pardo
Zapata Wren, showing whitish-gray throat and breast. (Ciénaga de Zapata National Park, Cuba; November 14, 2013.) © Alan Van Norman
Zapata Wren, apparently drying its wings, providing an excellent view of the extensive heavy barring on its upperparts. (Santo Tomás, Ciénaga de Zapata National Park, Cuba; April 2, 2016.) © Michael J. Good
Zapata Wren. (Ciénaga de Zapata National Park, Cuba; March 12, 2015.) © Morten Venas
Zapata Wren, showing short wings, heavy bill, and short eyebrow. (Matanzas, Cuba; March 12, 2019.) © David Ascanio
Zapata Wren, singing, showing faint markings on the breast. (La Turba, Matanzas, Cuba; March 4, 2018.) © Christoph Moning
Zapata Wren, dorsal view showing short, rounded wings, long, broad tail, and extensive, heavy barring on its upperparts. (La Turba, Matanzas, Cuba; March 4, 2018.) © Christoph Moning
Zapata Wren, with wings raised, providing an excellent perspective on their extraordinary truncated form. (La Turba, Matanzas, Cuba; March 4, 2018.) © Christoph Moning
Zapata Wren, with tail cocked, showing heavy barring on the vent. (Santo Tomás, Ciénaga de Zapata National Park, Cuba; February 24, 2018.) © Arturo Kirkconnell, Jr.
Zapata Wren, ventral view showing bold, heavy barring on undertail. (Matanzas, Cuba; March 12, 2019.) © David Ascanio
Zapata Wren. (La Turba, Matanzas, Cuba; February 2, 2016.) © Dušan M. Brinkhuizen
Zapata Wren, ventral view showing whitish-gray underparts, heavy bill, and short eyebrow. (Matanzas, Cuba; March 12, 2019.) © David Ascanio
Zapata Wren, ventral view showing whitish-gray underparts and long, broad, rounded, heavily barred tail. (Santo Tomás, Ciénaga de Zapata National Park, Cuba; December 8, 2018.) © Garrett Lau
Zapata Wren, with tail cocked. (Matanzas, Cuba; March 12, 2019.) © David Ascanio
Gray Trembler, C. g. gutturalis, showing the smaller bill and indistinct mask of this subspecies. (Fort-de-France, Martinique; July 2015.) © Vincent Lemoine
Zapata Wren, dorsal view showing extensive, heavy barring on upperparts. (La Turba, Matanzas, Cuba; February 9, 2015.) © Michael J. Good
Zapata Wren, showing tan underparts with heavily barred flanks and vent. (Santo Tomás, Ciénaga de Zapata National Park, Cuba; February 24, 2018.) © Arco Huang
Voice. Song is loud and clear, alternating among whistled notes and various kinds of percussive clicking and churring:
Notes
Monotypic species and genus.
IUCN Red List Status: Endangered.
References
BirdLife International. 2017. Ferminia cerverai (amended version of 2016 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22711392A111065824. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22711392A111065824.en. (Accessed November 29, 2019.)
Brewer, D., and B.K. MacKay. 2001. Wrens, Dippers, and Thrashers. Yale University Press. New Haven.
eBird. 2019. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed November 29, 2019.)
Garrido, O.H, and A. Kirkconnell. 2000. Field Guide to the Birds of Cuba. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, N.Y.
Kroodsma, D., and D. Brewer. 2019. Zapata Wren (Ferminia cerverai). In Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D.A. Christie, and E. de Juana, eds.). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. https://www.hbw.com/node/58120. (Accessed November 29, 2019.)
Navarro, N. 2015. Field Guide to the Endemic Birds of Cuba. Ediciones Nuevos Mundos, St. Augustine, Florida.
Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.