Apolinar’s Wren
Apolinar’s Wren (Cistothorus apolinari) is a small bird of the Troglodytidae family, found only in the Eastern Range of the Colombian Andes.
Weight: 17.7 gr
Size: 12 cm
Subspecies:
C. a. apolinari
C. a. hernandezi
Endemic of Colombia
Wren / By: Neil Díaz
Diet
It feeds mainly on insects and spiders, as well as on caterpillars and occasionally dragonflies. It actively searches for its prey among the vegetation and sometimes catches them in flight.
Habitat
Subspecies C. a. apolinari inhabits wetlands, marshes, and lakeshore vegetation, especially in tall, dense patches of sedge (Schoenoplectus californicus) mixed with cattails (Typha spp.) and small shrubs. C. a. hernandezi lives in swampy páramos dominated by shrubs and Chusquea bamboo (Chusquea tessellata), as well as in open páramos with Espeletia spp.
Behaviour
Apolinar’s Wrens live in small groups (2-12 individuals) and are very faithful to their territories, which they defend actively throughout the year. Their ability to disperse is low, which limits their chances of recolonizing areas where the species has disappeared.
Distribution
It lives high in the Andes, between 2,500 and 3,800 meters above sea level, across the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. Its range extends from the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, Güicán, and Chita in Boyacá to the páramo of Sumapaz in Cundinamarca.
Reproduction
The Apolinar’s Wren builds its nest using dry leaves, straw, flowers, and plant fibers, placing it among sedges or vines in areas with dense vegetation. Its breeding season can occur between February and October, and males usually arrive earlier than females to establish their territories.
Population
The species’ population is estimated at fewer than 2,500 mature individuals and is continuously declining. The largest populations, belonging to the subspecies C. a. apolinari, are found at the Andean Plateau Lakes Fúquene and Tota, where 200 and 356 individuals were estimated in 2007, respectively. A study conducted in 2019 in several wetlands of the Bogotá Savannah revealed a decreasing trend since 2001, with a possible 85.1% decline of C. a. apolinari populations in these wetlands.
C. a. hernandezi is relatively less rare in suitable habitat and populations do not seem to be declining so drastically. Up to 73 individuals were reported in certain areas of the Sumapaz páramo in 2004. During 2008, 86 individuals were counted in the Usme–Pasca hills (Sumapaz region), and in Pisba National Natural Park, an average of 30 individuals was recorded between 2008 and 2009.
C. a. apolinari in Fúquene and Tota
Individuals at the Fúquene Lake
Fundación Humedales recent surveys (2024–2025)
Individuals at the Tota Lake
Fundación Humedales recent surveys (2024–2025)
Fundación Humedales recent surveys (2024–2025) estimated 88 individuals at Lake Fúquene and 87 at Lake Tota. The density of individuals ranged from 1.369 – 2.373 ind/ha in Tota and 0.586 – 0.956 ind/ha in Fúquene. These density values extrapolate to an estimated population size in the area of suitable habitat (sedges stands) of 587-957 individuals in 1,089 ha in Fúquene and 205-356 individuals in 150 ha in Tota.
Historical data from eBird for Lake Fúquene also show a clear decline in records between 1998 and 2025, suggesting a continuing reduction in the species’ presence in the area.
C. apolinari Fúquene eBird data
» Fúquene Lake / By: Santiago Valderrama
» Fúquene Lake / By: Alejandro Lozano
» Tota Lake / By: Eugenio Valderrama
Conservation Status
This species is classified as Endangered (EN, C2a(i)) both nationally and globally, and as Critically Endangered (CR, B2ab(ii, iii, iv, v)) at the national level. Its main threats are the destruction and degradation of its wetland habitats — particularly the loss of sedges stands — due to drainage and burning of this vegetation for agriculture and cattle grazing. In Lake Fúquene, the removal of sedges carried out by the environmental authority to control the growth of invasive aquatic plant species, is also a threat. Other pressures include sedimentation from erosion on deforested hillsides, pollution from agrochemicals and wastewater that alters wetland vegetation, and the use of insecticides that may reduce food availability or directly poison the birds. Additionally, the species suffers brood parasitism by the Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis).
At the national level, assessments estimate that the species has lost at least 30% of its population over the past ten years, and this decline is expected to continue over the next decade. The population is severely fragmented due to habitat loss and has a limited capacity for recolonization. Continuous declines have been observed and projected in its area of occupancy, habitat quality and extent, number of localities and subpopulations, and number of mature individuals.
Apolinar’s Wren and the high mountain wetlands
Apolinar’s Wren is an umbrella species; by protecting its largest populations we will also protect several endemic and endangered bird species that inhabit the sedges stands in the Andean Plateau Lakes. An appropriate management of this vegetation that encompasses only a fraction of our Plateau Lakes, is crucial to support food webs, habitat formation, water-level regulation, erosion control and to potentially remove toxic compounds from the water, is essential for the protection of these unique Lakes.
What we need to do?
Surveying Apolinar’s Wren populations across the distribution of the species and develop occupancy models in strategic populations like Fúquene and Tota Lakes.
Estimate genetic diversity, gene flow and assess the differentiation between the two subspecies.
Develop a management plan for the conservation of this bird species that will benefit other threatened and endemic wetland bird species and the conservation of unique and threatened ecosystems like the Colombian Andean Plateau Lakes.