Northern House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) lives in open woodland areas across Canada to southernmost South America. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Hear the Northern House Wren
A real field recording of the Northern House Wren, made in the wild.
The northern house wren measures 11 to 13 cm (4.3 to 5.1 in) long with a 15 cm (5.9 in) wingspan and weighs just 10 to 12 g (0.35 to 0.42 oz). Its wing chord ranges 4.7-5.3 cm (1.9-2.1 in) and the tail is only 3.9-4.4 cm (1.5-1.7 in). Such a tiny frame lets it slip into narrow crevices and woodpecker holes.
A single clutch can hold up to eight eggs, each weighing about 1.4 g (0.05 oz) and measuring roughly 17 mm × 13.4 mm (0.67 × 0.53 in). The female incubates them for 12-19 days, then both parents feed the altricial chicks for another 15-19 days until fledging. This rapid, intensive care cycle allows the species to raise up to two broods in one breeding season, boosting its reproductive output in the short summer window.
Northern house wrens are fiercely territorial: they will puncture the eggs of rival birds and even fill competitors' nests with sticks to make them unusable. Females that sang more in playback experiments lost fewer eggs to such ovicide, suggesting that vocal aggression directly reduces nest loss.
In the western Great Plains floodplain forests, the species reaches its highest breeding density by reusing woodpecker holes as nests. After returning from winter in the southern United States and Mexico, adults arrive in late April to May, locate a cavity a few meters above ground (sometimes up to 15 m/49 ft on cliffs), and begin building a cup nest within about a week.
Although primarily insectivorous, northern house wrens occasionally end up as prey for tiger sharks far from land. A study of 105 sharks in the northern Gulf of Mexico found 41 (39 %) with bird remains, including house-wren feathers, beaks or feet. Most of these shark-bird encounters occurred in the fall, when migratory songbirds begin their southward Gulf crossing, suggesting that storms may force exhausted birds into the water where they become easy shark meals.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.
In the sun-dappled underbrush, the Northern House Wren flits with irrepressible energy, its tiny, brown body a blur of motion as it darts between twig and leaf. With a tail that cocks and bobs like a metronome, this diminutive songster navigates its domain with an air of fearless abandon, pouring forth a cascade of melodic trills that echo through the forest. As it moves, the wren's bright, black eyes sparkle like polished onyx, illuminating a world of hidden treasures and secret delights.
Advertisement
Hear the Northern House Wren, and 4,400+ more
Real recorded sounds, 11 nature games and a free Daily 5, 1v1 quiz duels, conservation wins and a safe Kids mode. Free on Feravox.
