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Winter Wren

(Troglodytes troglodytes)
Banded 29 September, 2001
Carmel, Indiana

General Information

The Winter Wren is the only species of wren that occurs outside of the western hemisphere. It is holarctic, and is abundant in Europe, North Africa, Asia, and Japan as well as North America. In some years, it may be one of the most abundant winter birds in the UK. The genus name, Troglodytes, comes from the Greek meaning “creeper into holes” or “a cave dweller,” an apt description of these secretive, cavity loving birds.

The Winter Wren, only 4 to 4.5 inches long and with a wing span of 5.5 to 6.5 inches, is one of the smallest birds in North America. One of the distinguishing characteristics of this wren is its extremely short tail.

Figure 1 - Winter Wren

Figure 2 - Winter Wren

The song of the Winter Wren is impressive for such a small bird. It is loud, rises and falls, lasts 7 to 8 seconds and has more than 100 separate notes. A single male may have a song repertoire of up to 30 different songs.

The Winter Wren behaves more like a mouse than a bird. They scoot rapidly along the ground in the undercover, or creep mouselike around brush and wood piles. Food items consist almost entirely of insects, spiders and some berries.

Figure 3 - Winter Wren

Figure 4 - Adult Winter Wren Upper Wing

The coverts of the adult bird are uniformly adult (Pyle 1997). Primary coverts have cinnamon-buff edging. The greater coverts have white tipping.

The underside of the Winter Wren has dark barring.

Although we often see Winter Wrens here, we do not usually catch them. Our mist nets are usually set about 10 inches above the ground, and the wrens scoot right under them. This individual was flying rather high and hit the lower part of the net at about 18 inches from the ground. Because of that, he (or she, for sexes are similar) now wears a small aluminum band with the number 2110-12614.

Figure 5 - Winter Wren

Figure 6 - Winter Wren Undertail

The short tail is characteristic of the Winter Wren. The dark barring of the underside extends to the undertail.

Nesting Behavior

Winter Wrens prefer to nest near water. They breed in the forests of Canada and northern parts of New England, the Great Lakes area, and in the mountains south to northern Georgia. On the west coast, their breeding range extends south to central California and Idaho.

The male Winter Wren is serial polygynous (may have several consecutive mates). He will build the outer shell of several nests in the hollow of an upturned tree root, under a stream bank or in a wall or embankment. The female then selects a nest and adds the inside lining. From 5 to 8 eggs, incubated by the female, hatch in 14 - 17 days. Both parents care for the young, who leave the nest in 15 - 20 days.

Banding Encounters

According to the web page of the Bird Banding Lab, a total of 30,687 Winter Wrens were banded in North America between 1955 and 2000. As of the year 2000, 19 had been encountered, an encounter rate of 0.062%. Banding does show that these birds can live up to 6 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 Status and Economic Importance

Populations of winter Wrens in North America seem to be increasing. This is the only wren that occurs in the northern hemisphere outside of North America. Winter Wrens perform an important service by consuming destructive insect pests such as weevils, wood borers, aphids, caterpillars and moths. Spiders are also taken, along with occasional berries.

Literature Cited

Pyle, P. 1997. Identification Guide to North American Birds, Part I. Slate Creek Press, Bolinas, CA.

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