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House Wren

(Troglodytes aedon)
Banded July 6, 1996 - New Dover, Ohio
Recaptured June 29, 1999 - Carmel, Indiana

General Information

The House Wren (or Jenny Wren), is probably one of the most familiar cavity nesters in North America. The male signals his spring arrival with an almost incessant stream of burbles, warbles, buzzes and rattling churrs. Native Americans called this the little bird o-du-na-mis-sug-ud-da-we-shi, (making a big noise for its size) (Kastner 1986).

The House Wren occurs across Canada and North America southward through Central America to the southern tip of South America. From southern Mexico on south they have a distinctively different song, and are sometimes classified as a separate species. 

While House Wrens are fascinating and fun to have in the back yard, they are aggressive toward other birds, and will drive out other cavity nesters, even pecking holes in the eggs of other birds and killing their nestlings.

House Wrens are from 4.5 to 5.5 inches long with a wingspan of from 6 to 7 inches. Weight ranges from 10 to 13 grams.

The individual shown here was banded as a nestling near Columbus, Ohio in July of 1996. It was recaptured as a breeding female in June 1999 just north of Indianapolis, Indiana. This bird and its mate fledged 8 young from an artificial nest box.

Figure 1 - Female House Wren

Figure 2 - Adult Female House Wren

The House Wren lacks any distinctive field marks, and is one of the dullest of the North American wrens. The long downcurved bill is adapted for catching its favorite foods of insects and spiders.

The white tips on the greater coverts of adult birds are seen here. White tips are lacking in the greater coverts of juvenile birds.

Figure 3 - Coverts, Adult Female House Wren

Figure 4 - Primary Flight Feathers

House Wrens have ten primary flight feathers, the tenth (top feather in this photo) is reduced.

The short tail is often held in a characteristic upright or cocked
position.

Figure 5 - Tail Feathers

Figure 6 - Band

This band was applied to this bird in July 1996. As can be seen, wearing a properly applied band does not damage the leg of the bird.

Nesting Behavior

House Wrens are cavity nesters that prefer to associate the edges of woodlands. The nest is made of twigs lined with hair, feathers and other soft material. From 5 to 9 eggs, incubated by the female, hatch in about 2 weeks. Both parents care for the young who leave the nest in another 12 - 18 days.

Banding Recoveries

The Bird Banding Lab web site reports that between 1955 and 1997, 189,459 House Wrens were banded. Of these, 2,374 have been recovered, a recovery rate of 1.25%. Banding studies show that House Wrens are short distance migrants, and can live up to 7 years in the wild.

If you should recover a banded bird, please report the band number to
the Bird Banding Lab by calling 1-800-327-BAND.

Conservation

The diet of the House Wren consists almost entirely of insects, spiders, snails and other small invertebrates, including flies, ticks, plant lice, gypsy moth larvae, ants, bees, beetles, grasshoppers and caterpillars. Their taste for insects provides a valuable natural control of insects pests. The down side of having House Wrens around is their propensity to destroy eggs and nestlings of other species of birds in their territory.

Populations of House Wrens are generally increasing. This probably reflects the increase in edge habitat associated with the accelerated clearing and fragmentation of forest.

Literature Cited

Kastner, Joseph. 1986. A World of Watchers. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY. 241 Pp.

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