Winter Wren

Bird of the Month: Pacific Wren

By Hugh Jennings

PC: Caroline Samson/American Photography Awards (Winter Wren)

Scientific Name: Troglodytes troglodytes

Length 4-4.5 in

AOU Band code WIWR

The Winter Wren is a small, 4” to 4 ½”, round, dark wren, smaller than the more common Bewick’s Wren.  It has a very short tail, a light line over the eye, and brownish, heavily barred flanks.  It often bobs and bows.

Found in coniferous forests and woodland underbrush, it is a year-around resident on the Pacific Coast from California to Alaska.  It breeds in northern U.S., southern Canada, and the Alaska coast.

Its song is a rapid succession of high tinkling warbles and trills, and often ends on a very high, light trill.  The song lasts about 5 seconds, and is repeated 4 to 6 times a minute.  Its low double-call note, tick-tick, is distinctive.