Winter Wren (us-RGV)
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Contents |
Regional Information
Range, Abundance, and Seasonal Variations
Directions and Maps
General Information
Size
Length: 9-10.5cm (??in), Wingspan: ??cm (??in)
Field Marks
Rufous brown above (more reddish in eastern United States birds), greyer beneath, barred with darker brown and grey, even on wings and tail. The short, thin bill is dark brown, the legs pale brown. Young birds are less distinctly barred. Indistinct supercilium. Very short tail frequently held upright. Sexes similar
There are around 27 Eurasian subspecies of this taxonomically complex bird, with around 12 more in North America.
Similar species
Other wrens with indistinct superciliums are House, Sedge and Rock Wrens. Winter Wren is more reddish-brown above, darker below and has a shorter tail. Sedge Wren is streaked with white on the crown and back. Rock Wren is larger with a contrast between the gray back and brown rump and has buffy tips to the tail.
Sounds
When annoyed or excited its call runs into an emphatic churr, not unlike clockwork running down. Its song is a gushing burst of sweet music, loud and emphatic. The song begins with a few preliminary notes, then runs into a trill, slightly ascending, and ends in full clear notes or another trill. At all and any season the song may be heard, though most noticeable during spring.
Feeding & Behavior
Small insects and spiders, in winter large pupae are taken and some seeds.
Habitat & Nesting
Frequently found very near the ground in brush piles, root tangles and along stream banks. A bird of the uplands even in winter, vanishing into the heather when snow lies thick above, a troglodyte indeed. It frequents gardens and farms, but it is quite as abundant in thick woods and in reed-beds. The male Wren builds several nests. The normal round nest of grass, moss, lichens or leaves is tucked into a hole in a wall, tree trunk, crack in a rock or corner of a building, but it is often built in bushes, overhanging boughs or the litter which accumulates in branches washed by floods. Five to eight white or slightly speckled eggs are laid in April, and second broods are reared. The eggs of the St. Kilda Wren are marginally larger and often more boldly spotted; six is the usual number.
Range
Common in Europe, a belt of Asia from northern Iran and Afghanistan across to Japan, and North America. It is only migratory in the northern parts of its range.
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