Bird of the Month: House Wren
PC: Mick Thompson (House Wren)
By Andy McCormick
Scientific Name: Troglodytes aedon
Length 4.75 in
Wingspan 6 in
Weight: 0.39 oz
AOU Band code HOWR
Like some little mountain spring … this little wren’s song bubbles, ripples, cascades in a miniature torrent of ecstasy (Blanchan 1903).
As if comparing the effervescent song of the House Wren to a mountain spring was not enough, Louis Pierre Vieillot (1748-1831), a French ornithologist, compared it to the song of a nightingale. In doing so he provided its species name aedon, Greek for a nightingale. The story of Aedon is a Greek myth of a woman who suffered a tragedy when she accidentally killed her only child. Zeus took pity on her and turned her into a nightingale with a beautiful song and then Aedon had some joy in her life. The song of the House Wren is a loud, bubbly series of cascading down-slurred dry trills usually easy to recognize (Alderfer).
Its song makes up for what the House Wren lacks in distinguishing plumage. The western birds of the species tend to have head, nape and back of a near uniform shade of brown with only a pale eye stripe (Johnson). The throat and chest are pale gray.
The Jenny Wren
Some call the House Wren the Jenny Wren (Dunne) and its song and friendly nature were incorporated into a nursery rhyme.
As little Jenny Wren
Was sitting by the shed.
She waggled with her tail,
And nodded with her head.
She waggled with her tail,
And nodded with her head,
As little Jenny Wren
Was sitting by the shed.
This usage is probably borrowed from the British, who use Jenny Wren as their familiar name for the Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes, one of three recent splits of the Winter Wren). The House Wren is in the genus Troglodytes, from the Greek troglodutes, one who creeps into holes, referring to the wren’s behavior of foraging around holes and crevices.
Cohabitates with Humans
Almost any hole or crevice will suffice for a nesting spot for the House Wren. It is a cavity nesting bird traditionally found along the edge of mixed woodlands. It has adapted well to humans and are comfortable around homes and gardens in Eastern Washington and northern Puget Sound. They are not found often in Western Washington west of the Cascades. They seek out nooks and crannies in buildings and readily use nest boxes (Dunne).
The male arrives first on the breeding ground and will begin building a series of “dummy” nests in several cavities. The female chooses one and finishes it before depositing 6-7 eggs. Incubation lasts about two weeks and the young leave the nest about two weeks after hatching. The diet for both young and adults is made up of insects including beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars, moths and flies. Males will be very aggressive in defending their territory and will often puncture the eggs in nearby nests, including those of other House Wrens (Kaufman).
The House Wren population is stable and may be increasing in some areas to a great extent because of the bird’s affinity for human-made structures and the way gardens and city parks mimic its traditional habitat in open woodlands (Johnson).