Talk:New Zealand rock wren

Name of article

 * "South Island Wren"? I've never heard Xenicus gilveientris called that name; actually I personally find it kind of misleading and when I saw the article I thought it would be about the South Island sub-species of Bush Wren. Heather and Robertson, the NZ bird field guide officially endorsed by the NZ ornithological society has it as "Rock Wren". It's predecessor by Falla, Sibson and Turbott also has the name as "Rock Wren". To avoid confusion with the north american species we could set up a disambiguation page and have this article as "Rock Wren (New Zealand)". As far as i can see only Birdlife International uses the term "South Island Wren". Thoughts about name change? Kotare 11:03, 7 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I wasn't thrilled when I created the page, but there was already a Rock Wren page and people at WP:BIRD didn't like Rock Wren (New Zealand). New Zealand birds do get short thrift from HBW, and Rock Wren (New Zealand) is probably more accurate than South Island Wren (I've never heard it called that), so I guess I would support the move. Sabine's Sunbird  talk  12:26, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

Requested move

 * Support; see discussion above + This species is known only as the "Rock Wren" throughout its entire range in the South Island and DOC uses this name also. Kotare 10:14, 8 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Support - I usually go along with international naming conventions but this one makes no sense - Rock Wren is its name across the entirety of its range. Sabine's Sunbird   talk  08:39, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

This article has been renamed as the result of a move request. --Stemonitis 05:56, 12 July 2007 (UTC)


 * I noticed in 2009 this article was renamed "New Zealand Rockwren", without seeking any discussion. Neither South Island wren nor Rockwren are the forms of the name ever used for this endemic New Zealand bird by New Zealanders. The 2010 official OSNZ Checklist uses "Rock Wren". The IOC renaming was presumably because the rock wren is not a "true" wren (though it is actually one of a group officially called New Zealand wrens, so "New Zealand rock wren" makes sense). But the IOC World Bird List explicitly states that if their choice is "contrary to long-established and widespread usage, the rule may be modified or not applied." And in the WikiProject Birds naming conventions: "Wikipedia article titles may diverge from the IOC list when the most common name in reliable sources is different from the IOC name." I think NZ checklist usage should prevail here: the article should be moved (again), "rock wren" should be the form used throughout it, and "South Island wren" and "rockwren" should be noted as alternative forms sometimes used overseas but never in NZ. A clarification distinguishing it from the North American "rock wren", which really is a wren, can be added too. Thoughts? Giantflightlessbirds (talk) 20:52, 5 January 2016 (UTC)


 * No objections, so I went ahead and moved it to New Zealand rock wren, as per the discussion above. I see the New Zealand bush wren is in the same state. Giantflightlessbirds (talk) 05:31, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

Move to note or reword
"It is sometimes known as the South Island Wren, a name used to separate it from the unrelated Rock Wren of North America". Makes me wonder who it is sometimes known as the SIW by. If 'South Island Wren' is never used in New Zealand, then maybe we should move this line to a note? Kahuroa 19:37, 12 July 2007 (UTC)
 * IUCN and HBW use it, as do other international bird lists. I suggest rewording simply to make it clear it isn't used in New Zealand. Sabine's Sunbird  talk  20:12, 12 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Done. Giantflightlessbirds (talk) 05:32, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

Conservation status
According to the Gaze (2013) reference, rock wrens have been downgraded from Vulnerable to Endangered. This may be through DOC's threatened species ranking, rather than IUCN. I'm not au fait with converting taxoboxes to show DOC rankings, but perhaps someone else could check this and make the change. Giantflightlessbirds (talk) 10:28, 6 April 2016 (UTC)