Marsh Wren (1 Viewer)

Systematics
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Subspecies
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Eastern (small song repertoire, simpler song) group: dissaeptus, palustris (incl waynei), iliacus, griseus, marianae (incl thryophilus)
Western (large song repertoire, complex song) group: laingi, plesius, pulverius, browningi, paludicola, aestuarinus (incl deserticola), clarkae
? group: tolucensis
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Related Species
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The report of two evolutionary groups, eastern and western, in North America (Kroodsma and Verner 1987, Kroodsma 1989) has not led to a change in taxonomy. Preliminary but as-yet unpublished analyses suggest that members of these two groups mate assortatively where they co-occur in Saskatchewan marshes (D. G. Albright, M. J. Braun, D. Winslow, and D. E. Kroodsma unpubl. data): in two marshes, Eyebrow Lake and Nicolle Flats, 37 male-female pairs were classified by both male singing behaviors and molecular techniques as eastern, western, or mixed singers (some males had components of both singing styles). Of the five males classified as mixed singers, four attracted genetically mixed females whereas one paired with an eastern female. For the 32 other cases, mating appeared to be assortative by male song type, in that eastern male singers paired with eastern genetic females and western male singers paired with western genetic females. Although ~40% of adults had mixed genetics, those birds did not appear to choose mates at random. More work is needed.

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Peter Kovalik said:

Sarah A. M. Luttrell and Bernard Lohr. Geographic variation in call structure, likelihood, and call-song associations across subspecies boundaries, migratory patterns, and habitat types in the Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris). The Auk, Volume 135, 2018, pp. 127–151.

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