Eurasian Wren - BirdForum Opus

Subspecies T. t. troglodytes
Photo © by gaviao-real
Netherlands, June 2009

Troglodytes troglodytes

Identification

Subspecies T. t. indigenus
Photo © by Steve Round
Wirral, Cheshire, England, July 2004

Length is 9-10 cm (3½-4 in), weight 6-12 g.

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

Variations

Island populations 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.

Distribution

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.

Taxonomy

Subspecies T. t. cypriotes
Photo © by lior kislev
Rosh Pina wadi, Galil, Israel, February 2009

Was formerly considered conspecific with Winter Wren and Pacific Wren, but the three were split on the basis of vocal and genetic evidence^[1][2].

Rice et al (1999) proposed placing these species in a separate genus, Nannus³. Later molecular studies support this classification, because the closest relatives of Eurasian Wren, Winter Wren and Pacific Wren are not other members of the genus Troglodytes, but the Marsh and Sedge Wrens⁴, though this classification has not been followed by any of the main authorities^[5][6].

Subspecies

Subspecies T. t. hirtensis, St Kilda Wren
Heavier barring, greyer (less rufus) plumage and stockier body than mainland species
Photo © by Bert Swan
Seen on 430 metre cliff, Hirta, St Kilda, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

Subspecies T. t. taivanus
Photo © by Mark Bruce
Anmashan, Taichung County, Taiwan, December 2008
A high alpine subspecies found in forest undergrowth between 2000m-3400m

A total of 28-29 subspecies are accepted^[5][6]:

T. t. islandicus: Iceland
T. t. borealis: Faroe Islands (north Atlantic Ocean)
T. t. zetlandicus: Shetland Islands (Scotland)
T. t. fridariensis: Fair Isle (Scotland)
T. t. hirtensis: St Kilda (Scotland)
T. t. hebridensis: Outer Hebrides (Scotland)
T. t. indigenus: Ireland, and Great Britain apart from islands above
T. t. troglodytes: Continental Europe and Asia Minor
T. t. kabylorum: Balearic Islands, southern Spain and north-western Africa (Morocco to Tunisia)
T. t. koenigi: Corsica and Sardinia
T. t. juniperi: Northwestern Libya
T. t. cypriotes: Crete, Rhodes, Cyprus and Near East
T. t. hyrcanus: Crimean Peninsula to Caucasus Mountains, northern Iraq and Iran
T. t. zagrossiensis: Western Iran (not considered distinct by all authorities^[5])
T. t. tianschanicus: Northeastern Iran and southern Transcaspia to northern Afghanistan and Turkestan
T. t. subpallidus: Himalaya of Afghanistan
T. t. magrathi: Mountains on borders of Pakistan and Afghanistan
T. t. neglectus: Western Himalaya (Gilgit to western Nepal)
T. t. nipalensis: Himalaya of Nepal to north-eastern Assam and southern Tibet
T. t. idius: Northern China (south Hebei to Shandong)
T. t. szetschuanus: Western China (southern Shaanxi and Sichuan east to Hupei)
T. t. talifuensis: Southwestern China (southern Sichuan to western Yunnan) and northeastern Burma
T. t. dauricus: Eastern Siberia to Sakhalin, Manchuria and Korea
T. t. pallescens: Kamchatka Peninsula and Komandorskiye Islands
T. t. kurilensis: Northern Kuril Islands (Shasukotan and Ushichi)
T. t. fumigatus: Southern Kuril Islands and Japan
T. t. mosukei: Izu Islands and Daito Islands
T. t. ogawae: Southern Japanese Archipelago (Tanegashima and Yakushima)
T. t. taivanus: Taiwan

Habitat

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

Behaviour

Fledgling, subspecies indigenus
Photo © by max1
Lakenheath Fen, Suffolk, August 2019

Tends to keep low when flying.

Diet

Forages under dense cover for small insects and spiders.

Breeding

The nest is a ball of grass, leaves or other vegetation and may be placed in a bank hole, in thick vegetation or tucked under overhang. The clutch consists of 5-8 white eggs with brownish-red speckles. They are incubated for about 2 weeks and fledge around 16 or 17 days later.

There are usually 2 broods in the season which runs from April to August.

Vocalisation

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

Song Clip
Recording © by Joseph Morlan
Rosyth, Fife, Scotland, UK, 03 August 2018

Gallery

Click on photo for larger image

References

Dvoretski, S. V., et al. (2004). Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 271: 545–551.
Toews, D. P., & Irwin, D. E. (2008). Molecular Ecology 17 (11): 2691-2705.
Rice, N. H., et al. (1999). Condor 101:446-451.
Thread in Birdforum Taxonomy forum and references therein.
Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2014. IOC World Bird Names (version 4.4). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Eurasian Wren. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Eurasian_Wren

External Links

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