One of the loudest birds that we hear in our yards is also one of the smallest. The tiny house wren weighs only 11 grams, about the same as 2 quarters, and is a mere 4 inches long.
With its small size and unassuming coloration it is an easy bird to overlook, but the male's frequent bouts of effervescent singing give it away. That, and the fact that it often nests in our bird houses. Perhaps Birdhouse Wren would be a better name for it?
House wrens eschew pristine forests and vast prairies in favor of the scrubby habitats in between. They probably were not very common before Colonial times and have benefited from the creation of urban and suburban habitats.
They live across most of North America in the summer and in the southern United States in winter. Related subspecies can be found through Central and South America.
Despite its ubiquity, studies comparing house wrens in urban areas with those in rural areas revealed some key differences:
urban birds spend more time feeding their young;
make more trips to feed them;
and have less time to brood.
As a result, when urban chicks are ready to leave the nest they are smaller and lighter than their country cousins. It is likely that there are more big juicy bugs in rural areas so the country wren parents get to relax a little more.
The city wrens do have one thing going for them: There are fewer predators around, so the young are more likely to fledge.
In the video below you can watch a male persistently singing to attract a mate and even begin the nest building process. The female will finish building the nest.
Tell us about the house wrens in your yard in the comments section below.
Comments (32):
We have house wrens who took over the martin house in our backyard (here in Upstate New York). I really wanted to have martins, but I enjoy watching the wrens and especially hearing them sing. There's one who frequently sits on a post on our back deck and serenades me when I hang laundry out!
5/3/2010
I have a wren who wants to live in my house! She first built her nest in the garage overhead light. She beat me to the hole in the fixture, and I had to wait until the 4 baby birds fledged to repair it. Then she tried to nest in the overhead porch light but I caught her in time. Now when I sit on the porch to watch my many feeders, she comes and yells at me (where did she learn so many cuss words?) Marian Lipton, Beaufort, SC
5/3/2010
Felicitasiones para este documental es muy bueno !Me escanta eschuchar los cantos .Esmiel S.C.
5/5/2010
AWSOME
5/6/2010
We think house wrens are like the "terriers" of the bird world, they are constantly moving and so much fun to watch and listen to. We just had a pair return this summer on May 1st, guess there are finally enough bugs around for them to eat in Essex Jct Vermont. I wish people would not use all the chemicals they do on their lawns. Our lawn is one of the few natural lawns in the neighborhood, and it has taken us 10 years to get the birds to come to this area, by planting bird friendly bushes and trees, and by not using lawn chemicals. Every year we have a new species or two that finds our little oasis. Linda, Vt.
5/8/2010
Very nice. Quite informative and entertaining as well. House wrens were always one of my mother's favorite birds. They share her small size and vivacity. I've been hearing one sing in a neighbor's yard. Maybe I could lure it to my yard with a well-placed birdhouse!
5/16/2010
Very well written and interesting especially the difference between rural and urban birds.
5/17/2010
I could listen to those little birds all day long. God sure is creative in the variety of birds..and all of creation. Thanks for sharing a bit about this little wonder!
5/25/2010
House Wrens really migrate in April to see their familys baby birds are let go at about 32 weeks
5/27/2010
Thats too spiffy ;D
5/28/2010
Loved the article. Had a wren get into my house once, not sure hot. Seemed to be pretty smart and left when I opened the door without having to chase it! NMD
5/30/2010
I Love Birds!
6/7/2010
Let's not forget that house wrens will invade bluebird nesting boxes that the wrens consider located in their territory and will kill nestlings and destroy eggs. And that house wrens also invade each other's nests and kill nestlings and destroy each other's eggs. There's more to the house wren than its pretty song.
6/8/2010
While it's true that house wrens will take over nesting boxes when other suitable nesting spots are not available, I am not sure I place more value on a bluebird over a wren. That is nature's way. My mother, too, loved house wrens and they are very faithful to a nesting site. A male wren will return to the same nesting site for a series of years. Each spring in April, I start listening for the wren's trill to announce the true arrival of spring and it makes my day when I hear him.
6/13/2010
In my backyard I have a discarded baker's rack...on the top shelf is an empty hanging basket, and coiled inside is an old macrame hanger. Our wren nested on top of that, nicely shielded underneath the soffit. I've been watching her go back and forth to the nest with bugs. This morning I saw 4 little wren fledglings in my front yard, being fed by their mother as they made their way among the bushes, hopping and flitting. My property is very small, but it seems these two families have not bothered each other.
We also have catbirds in the forsythia about to fledge, sparrows that have taken over the purple martin house and fledging, and I've seen 3 different hummingbirds at the feeder. (Northwestern NJ)
6/14/2010
I am very fond of the pair that comes every year to nest in the boxes near my herb garden. They picked the birdhouse that was best hidden, since the trumpet vine around it leafed out about 2 weeks earlier than usual this year. They keep the organic garden free of bugs. Although I have never seen the wrens attack other nesting birds and their babies, I have seen them run off much larger adult birds. One year, I was sorry to see a pair of blue jays get their nestlings. (from Central Mass.)
6/16/2010
On June 13, house wrens hatched in a gourd hanging in our front yard. Both the male and female are feeding from morning until night. I don't know how many little ones there are. I think it is the male, sings even with his mouth full! She just goes about her business silently.
6/17/2010
One summer we had a hoe hanging under our deck with the flat part of the blade up and resting level on two nails. When wrens found it, well let's just say we didn't get much gardening done that summer! Enjoyed reading the article and everyone else's experiences. Dana, Keswick, VA 6/26/10
6/26/2010
It seems that the nest is built and finished in the bird house but I cannot tell if any eggs or babies are in there....They keep coming by the house singing and going in and out but does not look like bringing food to babies.....It just seems like a too long of a span between building and babies....I am confused....Help
7/2/2010
i love it very much (i love horses)!!!!!!!!
7/15/2010
I loved it and (comment 20 I LOVE HORSES TO I HAVE TO OF MY OWN!!!!!!!!!
8/6/2010
love it, i have rescued 2 baby wrens whose mom nested in the vent over the bathroom of a families house. they heard noises and removed the vent and out fell the babies. So they were turned in to a bird farm and I got the privilege of rehabing them. They will be released in about a week. I will miss them. they are a blast! We have a nature preserve near us, and that is where I think they will go. safer there. Our neighbors use poisons, and have cats. We hope they make it. Has anyone ever tried to have a wren as a pet? It would be hard to provide all the bugs for them to eat. Mine eat tremendous amounts of insects.
sharon
8/17/2010
beutiful bird....
8/19/2010
I assist banders in Alberta, Canada. No other bird manages to ensnare itself like a HOWR.
8/19/2010
I just came home to a house wren in my apartment! It just took over 4 hours for him to decide he wanted to leave! Such a cute little creature! If I didn't have a cat, I would almost want him to stay. :)
10/14/2010
In response to the number 14 comment - House wrens do not just take over boxes, they crack eggs and kill Bluebirds babies . . . I found six tiny babies last year all dead and a wren making its nest over the dead bodies. I had seen the Bluebirds fighting with the Wren earlier. These little birds do have a sweet song but they also go into any cavity, within a range (not sure exactly how large . . . but there are twenty acres here with several boxes and small cavities in other places, in about a two acre garden.) and they will crack eggs or kill babies. I have watched them go into nests of Chickadees, Phoebes, Bluebirds and Tree Swallows. The Tree Swallows and Bluebirds do adjust to one another here . . . I have four houses. They raise their babies peacefully here in the gardens. The boxes are spaced out around the gardens. The Wren would be welcome too but they will simply put sticks into every box and only use one for their young. A House Wren cannot be worth the lives of so many other birds.
1/7/2011
what a lovely bird
1/22/2011
These are great articles. All birds are beautiful but they all seem to be territorial and fight even amongst there own kind. We all hate to see them destroy other young birds and destroy nests, but of course we must leave it up to mother nature.
2/13/2011
can you house a house wren if so what do they eat
4/25/2011
After hanging in my backyard grapefruit tree for approximately 3 years, a house wren located the ceramic, bird-shaped, nesting bowl I had attached to a branch and set up residency. My wife had observed some activity and discovered 3 hatchlings inside of it. I noticed the parent wren perched with its head in the opening in the process of feeding them on several occasions. The nesting bowl is totally enclosed with the exception of the entrance opening which should protect them from the elements including predators. Hopefully, they will make it.
6/7/2011
Today I saw my house wrens babies leave their nest, 4 of them. While number 4 was still trying to decide to jump, I saw one of the Adult Wrens
Attact and kill the first flegling. What's up with that? The other 3 then was seen with the adults.
7/12/2011
I read that it's illegal to own wild birds and/or their nests/eggs. If you find abandoned babies you should contact a wildlife rehabilitator in your area. They primarily eat insects. I don't think I would want to keep one housed as I love to see birds flying free and happy. Also, they can catch a larger variety of bugs than we can.
![[small brown bird singing]](/scbi/migratorybirds/featured_photo/images/midpic/howr13.jpg "House Wren © Michael R. Duncan")
