Information on House Wrens
The house wren is one of 75 types of wrens that occur worldwide and one of nine that breeds in North America, according to the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Birds." The house wren is somewhat less secretive than the other kinds of wrens, often building its nests in man-made structures. The house wren is common in backyards and the bird is usually welcomed because of the many bubbly notes that it can produce as it sings.
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Identification
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The house wren is one of the least conspicuous wrens in terms of its color. This wren will be a dull brown, with darker brown shades on its tail and along its wings. Many wrens have what looks like an eyebrow, and this marking on a house wren is much less noticeable as opposed to other species. The bird has a flat head, curved bill and short wings. The males and females look alike.
Geography
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Few western hemisphere songbirds possess a larger distribution than the house wren. The bird will breed in North America from southern Canada south throughout the United States, with the only place lacking this species being extreme northern Maine. The house wrens of North America spend the winter in Mexico and parts of the Deep South, while Central and South America are places where the house wren lives year-round. The bird occurs in open woodlands and along the borders of the forest. House wrens will reside in farmlands and visit backyards, but in the winter hide in thickets and brushy locations.
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Diet
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The house wren consumes a diet composed of such insects as ants, beetles, flies, bees, caterpillars and grasshoppers, says the Chipper Woods Bird Observatory site. The bird eats spiders, lice and mites as well as snails and other tiny invertebrate species. The house wren is an important part of its ecosystem, helping to keep insect numbers in check. The house wren has a lengthy down-curving bill that helps it to capture bugs to eat.
Nesting
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The house wren has a reputation for constructing its nest in strange locations, with some turning up in spots like mailboxes and others in the pockets of clothes on a clothesline. The bird will remove its old nest upon returning in the spring to its breeding grounds, only to put it back together using the same twigs and sticks. House wrens suffer from mites in many of the cavities in which they nest. The birds solve this problem by adding the egg sacs of spiders into their nests; when the eggs hatch, the little spiders eat the mites.
Behavior
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House wrens will fight other birds for prime nesting cavities in old trees and nest boxes, sometimes killing much larger birds during these struggles. The house wren will also peck at the eggs of other birds until they destroy them. The house wren causes problems for tree swallows, chickadees and bluebirds with this behavior, notes the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website. The bird emits a jumble of notes as it pursues its food, flitting adeptly from branch to branch in the trees and shrubs.
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References
- Photo Credit House Wren (troglodytes aedon) image by Steve Byland from Fotolia.com
