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House Wren - (Troglodytes aedon)
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On
April 23, 2010, we heard the unmistakable
singing of a house wren. Last year after
'William the Wren' had a wonderful little family
in one of our close bird houses, we saw very
little of him and them. Soon another male
appeared. This one had white feathers on his
right wing edge. Even though he too sang his
little heart out and restuffed William's bird
houses with new sticks, I don't think he ever
found his true love. This year Mr. White Wing
wren is back in full song and filling every box
he can find with twigs large and small. Food Guy
likes to think he leaves longer sticks in the
opening so he'll know if it was disturbed by
interlopers. I personally believe the male wren
can't find his tape measure when seeking
appropriate material for DIY projects.
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By May 1st he found a female who surveyed
his crude nesting attempts and quickly picked
the one with the best potential and started
redecorating. |
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| May
to June, 2009 - The male house wren appeared to
be much bolder this year. He started nests
(sometimes with enormous sticks) in almost
every bird house we had. He managed to oust the
other potential house hunters (the tree
swallows, chickadees, and bluebirds). But he did
frequently sing his little heart out near the
picture-taking window. |
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| June 15, 2009 - Babies
finally left the birdhouse with much pushing and
shoving (the same as siblings everywhere). |
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| April 29, 2009 - The
little house wren male is once again selecting
several bird houses (we added a few more this
year). It's amusing to watch him put three
sticks at the bottom and consider the nest
started. He is much less shy around us now than
last year. His singing is so pleasant and he is
so cute, I can see why a female wren might
overlook his lack of decorating skills. |
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| In spring (2008)
we hung a small, diamond-shaped bird house
outside the center divider between the double
windows in my art room. A huge neglected bush
is growing before the windows, offering extreme
privacy from the side yard |
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What the interested house wrens seemed
unaware of was our ability to observe the new
move-in activities. The female chose this
site from several nests started by the male.
She busily redecorated his "handiwork".
Food guy watched as she struggled to use sticks
and twigs that seemed too large for the opening.
One had to remain "sticking" (pun intended) out
the front door.
During the first weeks of June we were
eventually lucky to be able to enjoy the babies'
first adventures out of the box and onto the
bush. We had a wonderful viewing window and
didn't interfere with any of the family's
doings, while taking tons of baby pictures.
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Size:
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Length: 4.75-5 in
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Weight: .4oz
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Wingspan: 6 in
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ID:
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Male: Small, dull gray or brown
overall; delicate dark barring on wings
and tail; faintly patterned belly and
undertail; long, thin slightly curved
sharp, dark gray bill; light brown
anisodactylous feet (three toes point
forward and one toe points backward);
tail often held erect; pale eye ring
with a pale streak over the eye
Female and Juvenile:Same as male
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Habitat:
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Forest edges, shrubs, thickets
residential and agricultural lands
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Diet:
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Insects (beetles and grasshoppers),
caterpillars, spiders and snails
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Family Behavior:
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Mating Habits: Monogamous and
solitary, but occasionally polygamous;
female may leave male to tend fledglings
and move to another male's territory for
a second clutch of eggs; male highly
territorial and may destroy eggs of
nearby competing species; 2 broods per
year
Local Breeding Period: Late May
Nests:Male starts several nests by
cramming a few sticks into available
cavities (nest boxes, abandoned holes,
buckets, baskets, anything large enough
to hold a nest); female selects her mate
then settles for one of these nest
starts and adds grass, feathers, small
twigs and pine needles; usually built
near previous year's nesting area
Eggs: 4-8 white with reddish brown
markings; male and female incubate 12-14
days
Nestlings: Born altricial (helpless,
naked, eyes closed) and stay in nest
12-18 days; fed by both parents or male
only
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Social Activities:
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Relatively bold, energetic and tame
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Range:
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Southern Canada across northern US in
summer; migrates to southern US
(below Virginia) and into South America
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Vocalization:
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Sings a loud flute-like melody from
dawn to dusk during mating season;
gurgling outbursts repeated at short
intervals to claim territory and attract
a mate; call is a rough scolding clatter
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| Lifespan: |
Up to 9 years |
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