A small dark wren of eastern forests.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The winter wren is a very small North American bird and a member of the mainly New World wren family Troglodytidae. The species was formerly often lumped together with Eurasian wren of Eurasia and Pacific wren of western North America under the merged name of northern wren, until they were split in 2010.
Source: Wikipedia — Winter wren Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Very small, dark rich-brown wren with a stubby cocked tail, heavily barred flanks and belly, and a faint pale eyebrow.
Similar species. Pacific Wren (West) is nearly identical, separated by range and a different call; House Wren is paler and longer-tailed. Winter Wren is the tiny dark eastern forest wren.
Voice. A very long, silvery series of rapid trills and tinkling warbles; call a hard, doubled 'chimp-chimp'.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Insects and spiders gleaned from vegetation.
Behavior. A tiny, secretive wren of cool eastern and northern forest; creeps through brushy tangles and fallen logs near the ground and pours out a remarkably long, tinkling song.
§ Range
Eastern North America
§ Habitat
Forests with dense understory
§ Threats
Forest loss.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the winter wren is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Support eastern forest conservation.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Winter wren
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Troglodytes hiemalis
- IUCN Red List — search for Troglodytes hiemalis
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Troglodytes hiemalis
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List
