Birdist Rule #96: Know Which Wrens Live Near You

And how to find them.

Wrens aren鈥檛 our flashiest birds, but they more than make up for it with their big personalities. Small and brown, they rarely sit still, whether vigorously defending  their nests and territories, pecking for food on the forest floor, or just incessantly chattering away. They鈥檒l get into shouting matches and physical confrontations with interlopers, including much larger species and humans, and even destroy eggs of other birds. In other words, wrens don't mess around. 

They鈥檙e also loud. Really loud. Sometimes what you hear is the aggressive notes of defensive breeders, but wrens are also known for their beautiful songs. There鈥檚 a lot of variety in American wrensong, from the rapid-fire fluting of the Winter and Pacific Wrens to the distinctive cascade of the Canyon Wren. When there鈥檚 a wren around, you鈥檒l know it.

And there probably is a wren around, no matter where in America you are. We鈥檝e got 10 wren species scattered around the country, and I want to help you find the ones closest to you.

But before we get to specifics, let鈥檚 quickly cover how to look for your wrens. Listen first. Like I said, wrens make a lot of noise both singing and yelling at other birds to get off their lawns. Next, look down. Wrens are insect eaters for the most part and spend their time on the ground or close to it in trees and bushes searching for prey. Finally, look carefully. The plumage of most all of our wrens is brown and white. Many have brown backs and lighter undersides, some are just brown all over. Their plumage is often intricate if you are able to study it鈥攆eaturing barring or spotting鈥攂ut they rarely sit still enough for a prolonged look.

Okay, now that we covered that, let鈥檚 talk about which species you鈥檙e looking for. I am going to break this down geographically, so feel free to skip down to the sections that cover your part of the country.

EVERYWHERE BUT ALASKA AND HAWAII

House Wrens are found all over the country, wintering in the Southeast and along our southern border but breeding across the lower 48 and into Canada. The House Wren is arguably the drabbest of the family, but their ability to live near humans (they鈥檙e named House Wrens for a reason) means that they鈥檙e a visible companion in many summer yards. Check Cornell鈥檚 to learn how to attract them to your neighborhood.

Marsh Wrens, on the other hand, prefer more isolated, marshy habitats. (As you'll soon notice, the people who named the wren species were not very creative.) Marsh Wrens are mostly migratory, spending the breeding season mainly in the northern half of the country and wintering in the southern areas and along the coast. Listen for their high-pitched mechanical chatter in marshes with long grass, and look for them performing complicated gymnastic moves as they grasp swaying marsh grass.

THE WEST

The Rock Wren is an open-country bird, larger than most wrens, that is usually found near鈥攚ait for it鈥攁 bunch of rocks. They can be found from the eastern Midwest all the way to the Pacific Coast. Another drab little wren, Rocks blend in very well with their habitat, so listen for their metallic pit-TEE! call in appropriate areas. Once you find one, watch them execute as they survey their surroundings.

Perhaps the most dramatic of all wrens is the Canyon Wren. They clamber along cliff faces, using their long bill and flattened head to reach deep into crevices for insects. They鈥檙e perhaps our most colorful wren, with a rufous belly and gray head contrasting with a snow-white throat. But Canyon Wrens are most often heard before they鈥檙e seen, and the sound of their cascading call echoing off rock cliffs is a sure sign you鈥檙e in the Rocky Mountain West.

Our smallest and darkest wren is the Pacific Wren, only recently recognized as a distinct species apart from the eastern Winter Wren. The Pacific is found all up and down the coast, from southern California to the Aleutian Islands (it鈥檚 Alaska鈥檚 only breeding wren). They鈥檙e tiny and mouselike, seen bouncing along dark, damp areas like streambanks and under fallen logs. Like the Winter Wren, Pacifics have an incredibly rapid call, sounding like . . .  let鈥檚 see . . . a tiny elf playing Flight of the Bumblebee on the violin. Just trust me on that.

All wrens have a habit of cocking their tails, but none so dramatically as the Bewick鈥檚 Wren. This species will flick and wave and fan its long tail as it chases prey through the undergrowth. Slightly smaller overall than the eastern Carolina Wren, Bewick鈥檚 has a brown back and a bold white stripe over the eye. Look for them in scrubby habitat from Oklahoma across the Southwest and up the coast to Washington.

Our largest wren is the long-tailed Cactus Wren. Found鈥攕urprise!鈥攊n arid, cactus-strewn habitats in the Southwest, the Cactus Wren is intricately patterned with a long white eyebrow and a splattering of breast spots. Their gruff and unmusical chattering call is synonymous with the desert southwest, and whether you know it, you鈥檝e probably heard it in the background of a Western movie.

CENTRAL / SOUTHEAST

The Sedge Wren, in my experience, is the most difficult wren to find. It鈥檚 preferred habitat of damp meadows and grassy marshes is being lost, and its skulking ways mean it鈥檚 hard to track down even when nearby. Listen first for its halting chatter and then hopefully you鈥檒l get a look at the intricate patterning and barring on the bird鈥檚 back and tail. You can find them breeding in the Great Lakes states and wintering in the Southeast.

Unlike Sedge Wrens, you won鈥檛 have to spend much time searching for the bright and energetic Carolina Wrens. Their clean white eyebrow is a giveaway marking if you get a look, but you鈥檒l likely hear them first: Carolinas are some of the most familiar and persistent noisemakers of all Eastern birds.. Their song is easily remembered using the mnemonic  鈥,鈥 or, as I prefer, 鈥渃heeseburger, cheeseburger!鈥 Their oft-repeated note can be heard from miles away, it seems. Traditionally a resident of the Southeast, Carolinas are expanding their range in all directions.

EAST

Finally, the Winter Wren, which is found all year long down the Appalachians and otherwise migrates between New England and much of Canada and the Southeast. It is similar in all ways to the Pacific Wren: Tiny and dark, it creeps along forest floors like a little puffball. Look for its stubby cocked tail as it bounces around the understory, and listen to its rapid call, which this time I鈥檒l describe as . . . hmmm . . .  a mouse鈥檚 VCR fast-forwarding a tape. For anyone reading this under, say, 30 years old, here鈥檚 what  sounds like. We鈥檙e learning all kinds of things today, aren't we?