The winter wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) is a small brown songbird with a round body and short tail that is common across North America. Despite its tiny size, usually 4-5 inches long, the winter wren has a surprisingly loud and complex song. This vocalization led to some interesting folklore surrounding the winter wren, including it being called the “king of birds” in European folk tales. The winter wren inhabits areas along the Pacific Coast, the Rocky Mountains, the eastern United States, and Canada. Its preferred habitat is coniferous forests. Read on to learn more intriguing facts about this tiny songbird’s appearance, habitat, diet, behavior, reproduction, and more.
What does the winter wren look like?
The winter wren is a very small, plump bird with a short neck and tiny bill. It has reddish brown upperparts and barred black and brown wings and tail. The underparts are lighter brown to tan. It has pale eyebrows and faint barring on the sides. The winter wren has a long thin bill with a slight downward curve. The legs are pinkish brown.
Males and females look identical. Juveniles resemble the adults but are paler overall with less distinct markings.
Some key physical features that distinguish the winter wren are:
- Length: 4-5 inches
- Wingspan: 5.5-6.5 inches
- Weight: 0.3-0.4 ounces
- Small round body
- Short neck
- Short upright tail
- Thin bill with downward curve
The winter wren is unlikely to be confused with any other species due to its small size, round shape, short tail, and loud melodic song.
Where does the winter wren live?
The winter wren has an extensive range across North America. Here is a summary of its distribution:
- Breeds across Canada, Alaska, the western and northeastern US
- Winters in the southern half of the eastern US and along the Pacific Coast
- Common year-round resident in the Pacific Northwest
- Occurs less frequently along the Gulf Coast and central southern states
Within its broad range, the winter wren occupies primarily coniferous forests. It is found in woods with dense undergrowth like fallen logs and brush piles which provide cover. Ideal habitat includes:
- Conifer and mixed forests
- Woodlands near streams or swamps
- Coastal forests
- Mountain forests up to the tree line
- Pine barrens
- Old-growth forests with decaying logs
The winter wren is absent from treeless areas. It ranges from sea level up to elevations of 8,000 feet in the western mountains.
What does the winter wren eat?
The winter wren is an insectivore, with insects and spiders making up the majority of its diet. It will also eat snails and small slugs occasionally.
Some of the main food sources include:
- Beetles
- Caterpillars
- Ants
- True bugs
- Flies
- Spiders
- Snails
- Slug
The wren finds prey by probing in crevices and holes in rotting wood, peering under debris, creeping along branches, and foraging through leaf litter on the forest floor. It uses its long slim bill to probe and pick out small insects.
In winter, the winter wren shifts its diet to eat more small fruits and seeds when insect prey becomes scarce. It is an opportunistic forager and will visit feeders for suet and peanut butter.
How does the winter wren behave?
The winter wren is a very active, restless bird that is constantly in motion as it searches for food. It hops and flits through dense underbrush, creeping mouse-like over and under logs and rocks. It bobs its short tail as it moves. When standing still, the wren frequently cocks and fans its tail.
Some interesting behaviors include:
- Frequently creeps head first down tree trunks
- Ducks under foliage instead of flying over obstacles
- Rarely seen motionless, almost always creeping around
- Cocks and fans tail constantly
- Nest and roost in hidden cavities
- Very secretive, keeps under cover
- Sing with their tails pointed up
Despite being quite active, the winter wren is hard to spot due to excellent camouflage and preference for dense habitat. It is more often heard than seen. When threatened, it presses close to the ground or tree trunk to hide.
What does the winter wren sound like?
The song of the winter wren is surprisingly loud, complex, and melodic for such a tiny bird. It has an extensive repertoire with over 200 song types identified! Songs vary regionally across their range.
Here are some features that make the winter wren’s song distinctive:
- Very loud and ringing song
- Hundreds of different song types
- Rapid trills, warbles, and gurgling sounds
- Sings repetitive phrases ending in a trill
- Sings year-round, with peak in spring and summer
- Sings from hidden perches
- Will respond to pishing sounds and imitated songs
The winter wren’s voice stands out in the forest and belies its tiny size. Listen for its complex melodies ringing through the woods.
How and where does the winter wren nest?
The winter wren nests in forest habitats from mid-April to July across its breeding range. It builds an enclosed nest in concealed locations such as tree cavities, brush piles, fallen logs, stumps, overturned roots of fallen trees, and manmade bird houses.
Nest sites are well-hidden and chosen for protection from predators. The nest is globular with a side entrance and constructed from twigs, moss, bark, leaves, ferns, and animal hair. It is well-camouflaged.
The female builds the nest and incubates the eggs alone. She lays between 5-8 tiny cream-colored eggs speckled with reddish brown spots. The eggs hatch after 13-16 days. Nestlings fledge 12-18 days after hatching.
Interesting nesting behaviors include:
- Only the female builds the nest and incubates eggs
- Nest extremely well concealed in cavities or hidden sites
- Will use manmade nest boxes
- Aggressive in defending nest, may attack intruders
- Male feeds the female but does not enter nest
- Young leave nest after 2-3 weeks
How does the winter wren care for its young?
The female winter wren alone incubates the eggs for about two weeks. Once the eggs hatch, both parents feed the nestlings.
The male gathers food and passes it to the female who then distributes it among the chicks. Nestlings are fed insects, spiders, and snails. This continues for about two weeks until the young are ready to leave the nest.
After fledging, the parents continue to care for and feed the young birds for several weeks as they learn to forage on their own. Young wrens are vulnerable at this stage.
Some interesting facts about winter wren parenting:
- Only female incubates eggs and broods young
- Male gathers food and passes it to female to feed chicks
- Both parents feed nestlings for 2 weeks
- Fledglings are cared for by parents for up to 4 weeks
- Parents are very defensive of nest and young
- May have 2-3 broods per season from April-July
The winter wren is a dedicated parent despite its small size. The young are dependent on the care of both parents until they can forage independently.
What are some cool facts about the winter wren?
Beyond the basic facts about its life history, there are some truly fascinating things about the charismatic winter wren:
- Sings one of the longest and most complex songs of any bird relative to its small size
- Builds elaborate nests with camouflaged side entrance
- Called the “kinglet of birds” in European folklore and mythology
- Males build several unused nests as decoys to distract predators from the female’s active nest
- Heart beats at 600 times per minute
- Weighs the same as two quarters
- Will survive staying submerged underwater for 12 seconds while hunting aquatic insects
- Migrates at night and covers 250-500 miles in one flight
The winter wren punches above its weight class with its boisterous voice, energetic behavior, and unique survival adaptations. This intuitive and charismatic songbird continues to fascinate ornithologists and bird enthusiasts.
Conclusion
For a bird that fits in the palm of your hand, the winter wren has an oversized influence. It lives life to the fullest, creeping restlessly through dense habitats, singing exuberantly, and exhibiting ingenious survival strategies. This resilient songbird thrives across an extensive range and under challenging conditions. The winter wren leaves a lasting impression through its indomitable spirit. Gain a new appreciation for this tiny avian wonders by listening and looking for it during your next walk in northern forests.