Bewick's Wren

Thryomanes bewickii

Order PASSERIFORMES - Family TROGLODYTIDAE

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A bird at home near human buildings and gardens, the Bewick's Wren was formerly common across the Midwest and eastern mountains. Eastern populations dropped drastically starting early in the 20th century, and now it is nearly restricted to the West.

Cool Facts

• The severe declines of Bewick's Wren in the eastern United States coincided with range expansion in the House Wren. It is suspected that the House Wren, which frequently removes eggs from nests in cavities, was directly responsible for the decline. The increased availability of nest boxes may have helped the spread of the House Wren, and therefore the decline of the Bewick's Wren.

• The male Bewick's Wren learns its song while still on the parents' territory. It learns the song not from its father, but rather from the neighboring territorial males. The song repertoire developed before the first winter is retained for life.

Description

• Size: 13 cm (5 in)
• Weight: 8-12 g (0.28-0.42 ounces)

• Small gray and brown songbird.
• Moderately long tail often held cocked over back.
• Thin pointed bill.
• Long white stripe over eye.

• Middle tail feathers brown and barred with black; others black with brown barred edges and tipped with whitish gray spots.
• Outermost tail feathers barred black and white.
• Wags tail from side to side.
• Upperparts brown.
• Throat white.
• Underparts light gray.

Sex Differences

Sexes alike.

Immature

Juvenile similar to adult, but with darker edges to feathers on chest, giving a scaled appearance.

Similar Species

• Carolina Wren similar, but has buffy, not gray underparts, and a shorter tail. The outer tail feathers of Carolina Wren are also spotted with white, but lack the white tips of a Bewick's Wren.
• House Wren is smaller and more uniformly colored, and lacks the white eyestripe and spots on the tail.

Sound

Song a series of whistled phrases and trills; variable across range. Also a raspy scolding call.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds along Pacific Coast from southern British Columbia to Baja California, in central southern United States from southern Wyoming to central Missouri southward to Arizona, eastern Texas, into southern Mexico. Rare and local breeder from southern Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee to West Virginia.

Winter Range

Resident in most of western portion of range; moves out of northern parts of center of range and winters along lower Colorado River and eastern Texas. Eastern birds largely migratory.

Habitat

Found in brushy areas, scrub and thickets in open country, riparian woodland, chaparral, urban and suburban parks, and residential areas.

Food

Insects and spiders.

Behavior

Foraging

Gleans insects from leaves and lower branches of shrubs.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Nest a cup in a cavity or on a shelf, although may be domed. Made of sticks, leaves, moss, spider egg cases, feathers, and hair, often lined with snake skin. Uses nest boxes.

Egg Description

White with varying amount of dark spotting, often concentrated around large end.

Clutch Size

3-8 eggs.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless with only wisps of down.

Conservation Status

Increased range into upper Midwest and along western Appalachians in mid-19th century. Eastern portion of population underwent severe decline starting in early 20th century and continuing through the 1990's. Eastern populations are nearly gone, with only a few scattered breeding locations left. For a discussion of the decline of the eastern birds, illustrated with data from the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, click here.

Other Names

Troglodyte de Bewick (French)
Chivirín cola obscura (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Kennedy, E. D., and D. W. White. 1997. Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii). In The Birds of North America, No. 315 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.