Small, often very skulking wren of lowlands and foothills in West Mexico; endemic. Favors tropical forests, thorn forests, and thickets, usually with vine tangles. Heard more often than seen. Song a happy-sounding, repeated series of sweet whistles. Calls include a rising trill, like running your thumbnail along a comb. Plumage distinctive, with striped face bordered below by black whisker, and orangish underparts. Often occurs alongside and sometimes in the same bush as the much plainer and different-sounding Sinaloa Wren.