The Fair Isle wren is darker and larger than the mainland form of the winter wren, though not as dark as another insular subspecies, the Shetland wren, T. t. zetlandicus.[2]
Distribution and habitatedit
This wren is endemic to Fair Isle, an island about halfway between mainland Shetland and Orkney. The St Kilda wren on the island of Hirta is often found nesting in crevices on the cliffs, and in association with puffin colonies, but that is not the case with the Fair Isle wren, where the low red sandstone cliffs are rather bare, with friable rock and earth slides, and small patches of tufted vegetation. The main breeding habitat of Fair Isle wrens is boulder beaches at the tip of long inlets. The boulders provide the shelter lacking on the cliffs, but even so, the windswept south-west of the island hosts few wrens. No breeding seems to occur in the crofting area, although the birds may feed here later in the year when the young are independent.[3]
Ecologyedit
The Fair Isle wren spends much time feeding on the foreshore among the dead seaweed cast up by the tide. Their diet includes sandhoppers and other crustaceans, and the larvae of flies.[3]
Statusedit
Fair Isle is a small island, 7.68 km2 (2.97 sq mi) in area, and the population of the wren is tiny, varying from ten to fifty pairs, breeding mainly on boulder beaches.[2]
Referencesedit
^Williamson, Kenneth. (1951). The wrens of Fair Isle. Ibis93(4): 599-601.[1]
^ ab. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
^ abWilliamson, Kenneth (1958). "Population and breeding environment of the St Kilda and Fair Isle Wrens" (PDF). British Birds. LI (10).
fair, isle, wren, troglodytes, troglodytes, fridariensis, small, passerine, bird, wren, family, subspecies, eurasian, wren, endemic, fair, isle, shetland, scotland, island, about, halfway, between, mainland, shetland, orkney, first, described, british, ornitho. The Fair Isle wren Troglodytes troglodytes fridariensis is a small passerine bird in the wren family It is a subspecies of the Eurasian wren endemic to Fair Isle Shetland Scotland an island about halfway between mainland Shetland and Orkney It was first described by the British ornithologist Kenneth Williamson in 1951 1 Fair Isle wrenScientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClade DinosauriaClass AvesOrder PasseriformesFamily TroglodytidaeGenus TroglodytesSpecies T troglodytesSubspecies T t fridariensisTrinomial nameTroglodytes troglodytes fridariensisWilliamson 1951 Contents 1 Description 2 Distribution and habitat 3 Ecology 4 Status 5 ReferencesDescription editThe Fair Isle wren is darker and larger than the mainland form of the winter wren though not as dark as another insular subspecies the Shetland wren T t zetlandicus 2 Distribution and habitat editThis wren is endemic to Fair Isle an island about halfway between mainland Shetland and Orkney The St Kilda wren on the island of Hirta is often found nesting in crevices on the cliffs and in association with puffin colonies but that is not the case with the Fair Isle wren where the low red sandstone cliffs are rather bare with friable rock and earth slides and small patches of tufted vegetation The main breeding habitat of Fair Isle wrens is boulder beaches at the tip of long inlets The boulders provide the shelter lacking on the cliffs but even so the windswept south west of the island hosts few wrens No breeding seems to occur in the crofting area although the birds may feed here later in the year when the young are independent 3 Ecology editThe Fair Isle wren spends much time feeding on the foreshore among the dead seaweed cast up by the tide Their diet includes sandhoppers and other crustaceans and the larvae of flies 3 Status editFair Isle is a small island 7 68 km2 2 97 sq mi in area and the population of the wren is tiny varying from ten to fifty pairs breeding mainly on boulder beaches 2 References edit Williamson Kenneth 1951 The wrens of Fair Isle Ibis 93 4 599 601 1 a b Nature in Shetland Archived from the original on 26 July 2011 Retrieved 4 December 2008 a b Williamson Kenneth 1958 Population and breeding environment of the St Kilda and Fair Isle Wrens PDF British Birds LI 10 Portals nbsp Birds nbsp Animals nbsp Biology nbsp Scotland Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fair Isle wren amp oldid 1081588304, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
