Learn More About the Little Bird That Likes to Live Big

WonderfulWrens

• Wrens’ family name, Troglodytidae , is from the word troglodyte, which means “cave-dweller”

• Some species of wrens have a tendency of foraging in dark crevices

Basic Wren Facts

• Wrens are small birds with loud and often complex songs

• Wrens have narrow heads and thin, down-turned bills – adapted for probing crevices

• Most wrens are cavity nesters

Basic Wren Facts

• Wrens have short, rounded wings

• This causes them to have a quick and erratic flight pattern

Basic Wren Facts

• Out of 75 species found in the New World, the Winter Wren is the only one to live outside of the Americas.

• The greatest diversity of wrens can be found in Central and South America

Basic Wren Facts

• Various wren species can be found in a number of habitats – grasslands, deep forests, forest edges, marshland vegetation such as reeds and cattails, some wetland forests, abandoned farmland and suburban gardens

Basic Wren Facts

• Carolina Wrens are truly monogamous, keeping the same mate for life

• Pairs stay together year-round, foraging and moving around within their territory

Carolina Wren Facts

• A female Carolina Wren is unable to defend her territory alone

• Because of this, females spend much of their time watching for predators when foraging with their mates

Carolina Wren Facts

• Rising temperatures may have aided their northward expansion since the mid-1900s

• They do not migrate

• They are sensitive to cold, and northern populations decrease substantially during severe winters

Carolina WrenFacts

• Nests of Carolina Wrens have been reported in a variety of nooks and crannies in, around or under buildings, under bridges or in holes in any structure such as a porch, fence-post, flowerpot, tree, house or barn

NestingBehaviors

• Carolina Wrens normally nest two times a year, but sometimes three

• Females typically lay between four to six eggs

• This usually takes place over a period of several days

Nesting Behaviors

• Eggs are grayish-white and sprinkled with reddish-brown spots

• Only the female incubates the eggs for 12 to 14 days

NestingBehaviors

• Young leave the nest 12 to 14 days after hatching

• Both males and females feed the young

• The same nest may be used more than once

Nesting Behaviors

• House Wrens nest in abandoned woodpecker holes or tree cavities, or even unoccupied hornet nests

• They also use human-made nest boxes and other artificial nesting sites

House WrenFacts

• A male House Wren may claim a nesting cavity by filling it with numerous small twigs

• If a female likes what she sees, she will take over, adding the nest cup and lining it with grass, inner bark, hair and feathers

House WrenFacts

• The stick filled cavity provides “stilts” for the nest cup which allows rainwater to collect at the bottom of the nest cavity without endangering the eggs or young

House WrenFacts

• Females lay four to eight eggs, which are whitish with small reddish brown spots

• Eggs are incubated 13 to 15 days by the female

House WrenFacts

• Young are born helpless, blind, and naked, and stay in the nest for 12-18 days after hatching

• House Wrens have two to three broods a year

House WrenFacts

• House Wrens are known for destroying the eggs or young of other birds nesting within 100 feet of their own nest

• In some areas, this is the primary source of nesting failure for Tree Swallows, chickadees and bluebirds

House WrenFacts

• The oldest banded Carolina Wren was 9 years and 3 months old

• The oldest banded House Wren was 9 years old

LongestLifetimes

For more information about wrens, visit our online field guide:

www.rightbird.com

WebResource