Bird Facts Winter Wren

Winter wrens were first described by Swedish botanist, zoologist, and physician Carolus Linnaeus in 1758 and are currently found in North America; additionally they are found in other areas of the world and are frequently seen in Europe, Asia, and North Africa.  In North America, they typically spend their springs and summers, as well as breed, from Alaska and British Columbia east through southern Canada to Newfoundland and south to California, northern Idaho, and the areas surrounding the Great Lakes. They are migratory birds that prefer to spend their winters in areas of the southern United States, including Florida, the Gulf Coast, and southern California. There are at least thirty-five sub-species of winter wrens and they prefer to make their habitats in dense thicket areas of both coniferous and mixed forests.

In appearance, winter wrens are small as they typically measure between 3.1 and 4.7 inches (8 to 12 centimeters) in length, typically have wingspans that measure between 4.7 and 6.3 inches (12 to 16 centimeters), and most often weigh around 0.3 to 0.4 ounces (8 to 12 grams). These wrens are usually dark in color, usually with different shades of dark brown plumage and have thin, pointed dark brown bills and rather short tails that are usually cocked upward. They have rather vocal calls that sound similar to "chirrr", "tik-tik-tik", "kit-kit," that many find it hard to believe can come from such a tiny bird. Even more specifically, per unit weight, winter wrens sound their calls using ten times more power than a crowing rooster. 

Winter wrens tend to feed on insects, insect larvae, millipedes, spiders, and the like. They generally forage on the ground and also along the banks of streams. Their nests are typically domed structures made of bark, twigs, moss, roots, grass, hair, feathers, and/or decayed wood with an entrance hole on the side and a lining of feathers and hair. They usually place them in existing holes in trees, wooden structures, or on root bases, or piles of branches, however they sometimes make their own holes on banks by streams or rivers. Winter wrens build several nests during a single breeding season, these nests are used for roosting or multiple breeding attempts. In the winter, these wrens are known to live communally in their nests, with many, many birds crowded into one nest to stay warm. During the breeding season, they usually lay one to nine eggs at a time, most often four to seven, and the female incubates the eggs for twelve to sixteen days before the new, young birds hatch.