They often stay low to the ground, hopping along and looking for insects. Winter wrens inhabit forest areas of the East and Midwest. The remainder of the belly shows darker feathers. The next picture shows a Canyon Wren with the typically the most cream or buff color on the throat. The top picture shows the Rock wren, identified by the almost totally cream or buff belly. Their territory often overlaps, yet identification remains fairly straight forward. It’s small, loud and constantly moving among the cat tails.Ĭonsider the first two Western wrens presented here, the Rock Wren and Canyon Wren. There is no mstaking the marsh wren for any other wetlands’ bird. Along with House Wrens, they compete for the most wide ranging of the North American wrens. Start with the Marsh wren in the video at the top of the page. This practice may be defensive, with a goal of discouraging competitor nesting and confusing potential predators.ĭespite their physical similarities, there are sufficient field identification clues to make wren identification a fairly easy task. Wrens also tend to be cavity nesters, some with an obsessive habit of tagging multiple cavities and bird boxes within their territory during breeding season. Wren vocalizations differ from species to species, and most species receive comparatively little credit for their singing skills. Most wrens share some common physical traits, including small size, brown feathers, stiff tails and long decurved bills. Species diversity increases to the south, with thirty breeding species identified in Mexico. The ABA lists eleven North American wrens. Nothing says sunshine on a cloudy day like a happy wren singing while hopping around the back yard. Wrens, a diverse family of predominantly new world songbirds, populate residential areas, grasslands, marshes and forests from Alaska to the southern most areas of South America.ĭespite their small size and dull color, it’s ok to label them cute as a button.

The wren nyc