Wren

Winter Wren	Both Sexes Chestnut brown upperparts, and pale below.
Troglodytes troglodytes
Length: 9-10 cm  (4")
Wing Span: 13-17 cm  (5-7")
Weight: 8-13 g  (¼-½ oz)
Breeding Pairs: 7 000 000
Present: All Year
Status: Green

Description

Wrens are stocky, restless birds that are easily recognised by their rich brown plumage and short cocked tail which they flick repeatedly. The upperparts and flanks have dark barring and the pale eyebrow (supercilium) is prominent. The underparts are paler with grey barring. The bill is brownish and the legs are flesh-brown.

Juveniles look similar to adults but the eyebrow may not be as prominent until they get their adult plumage.

In flight, its wing beats are rapid and it usually flies short distances and in a straight line.

Wren

The Winter Wren is the only wren found outside North America and, among European species, only the Goldcrest and Firecrest are smaller. Grasping just how small and light birds are can sometimes be difficult, the following may help:

Voice

	Song	Alarm Call
	Quicktime mp3	Quicktime mp3

The Wren lives life at a fast, restless pace and it sings this way too - it trembles as it puts everything into its song, which lasts about 5 seconds and usually ends in a trill.

Their alarm call is a loud "teck teck teck".

See Bird Song to discover why such a small bird can sing so loudly.

Feeding

Wrens eat spiders and insects which they find while hopping and dashing along the ground and probing in crevices with their long thin bill. Their scientific name, Troglodytes, means "cave dweller" in reference to this behaviour.

When they do venture out into the open they dart from one place to another.

They occasionally take seed or cheese from the ground feeder table.

Nesting

Wrens will use open-fronted and tit nest boxes, both for nesting and winter roosting (up to 60 have been recorded in one box).

The male bird constructs several globe-shaped nests in holes in walls, banks, trees, or old nests from leaves, grass and moss. When the female has chosen a nest, she lines it with feathers.

The smooth, glossy eggs are white with reddish spots, and about 16 mm by 13 mm. Incubation is by the female only. The young are fed by both parents.

Movements

Most British Wrens are sedentary though some move up to 250 km (150 miles) into more sheltered habitats, such as reed beds, for the winter.

European Wrens are both sedentary and migratory - the latter flying anything up to 2500 km (1500 miles).

Conservation

The Wren population can be devastated by a severe winter, but the species' high egg productivity means that numbers usually recover after a few years. Surveys suggest the population is increasingly moderately, possibly because recent winters have been quite mild.

My Garden

What the Wren lacks in size, it more than makes up for in voice and chances are that you will hear its amazingly loud song before you see it. In spring and summer, Wrens often enjoy singing while sat on top of the cotoneaster below my bedroom window - sometimes at 4 AM and I have to remind myself that I like birds!

Indeed, the cotoneaster bush is one of their favourite places for food, because there are hundreds of spiders, insects, and larvae. 

The chart shows that Wrens are seen most in the winter, probably because they are hungry, food is in short supply, and they become less cautious.

Further Reading

"The Wren", Shire Natural History (details)