From Opus

Includes Pacific Wren

Troglodytes troglodytes

Photo by Steve Round
Photo taken: Wirral, Cheshire, England

In Europe, this is the species just known as the Wren.

[edit] Identification

Length is 9-10 cm (3.5 - 4 inches)

• Mostly brown, in most populations with a reddish tint
• Small tail (often cocked)
• Pale buff underside (some populations almost as dark as the back)
• Prominent pale supercilium
• Bill slightly down curved

Island populations in both the Atlantic and in the Pacific tends to be larger birds than continental populations. For example in Iceland and the Faroe Islands, wings, legs, and bill are longer than in the UK.

[edit] Distribution

Breeds from coastal Alaska to California and across Canada to the Great Lakes area and in eastern United States south to northern Georgia.
In Europe from Iceland to central Scandinavia and south to the Mediterranean.
In Asia, it is widely distributed from north to south in the eastern end, but in central Asia, there is a gap separating those populations from western Asian and European populations.

[edit] Taxonomy

More than 44 subspecies has been described. A recent paper presents strong evidence that the forms of western North America, subspecies pacificus and salebrosus constitute a full species, Pacific Wren Troglodytes pacificus¹. This split is not yet recognized by major checklists.

Rice et al in 1999 proposed placing this species in its own genus, Nannus². Later molecular studies support this classification, because the closest relative of winter wren are not other members of the genus Troglodytes but the Marsh and Sedge Wrens³.

[edit] Habitat

Can be found in almost any habitat, low down in undergrowth from gardens and woodland to clifftops.

[edit] Behaviour

Tends to keep low when flying.

[edit] Diet

Forages under dense cover for small insects and spiders

[edit] Breeding

The nest is a ball of leaves or other vegetation in thick vegetation or tucked under overhang. 2 broods.

[edit] Vocalisation

Call: Hard, dry chit or chiti
Song: Loud (especially given its size) warbling. Can last up to ten seconds.

[edit] References

1. Toews DP, Irwin DE 2008. Mol Ecol. Jun;17(11):2691-705
2. Rice et al 1999 Condor 101:446-451
3. Thread in Birdforum Taxonomy forum and references therein.

[edit] External Links