- Troglodytes aedon
Includes Cobb's Wren
Identification
4 1/2 -5 1/4" (11-13 cm).
- Tiny bird
- Short tail, often held cocked over the back
- Dusky brown above
- Paler below, with no distinctive markings
Distribution
As discussed below, there are four main groups within house wren, which may become full species.
- Northern House Wren: breeds in much of the United States and southern parts of Canada; members of this groups are at least partly migratory.
- Brown-throated Wren: mainly a Mexican grouping, but also found in southern Arizona.
- Southern House Wren: much of Central and South America.
- Antillean House Wren: several islands in the Lesser Antilles.
- Cobb's Wren: several rat and cat free islands of the Falkland Islands.
Taxonomy
Clements1 accepts 32 subspecies of House Wren. There has been several rumblings about splitting this species into several species, with the approximate divisions given in the secion of "Distribution" above. The taxonomic status of House Wren have been discussed elsewhere in Birdforum2 and there are indications that the northern group may need to be split into an eastern and western form.
One split that seemed to have been accepted was Cobb's Wren of the Falkland Islands. However, with the new Clements update this Wren has been lumped again into this species. This thread discusses a recent (March 2009) proposal to split Cobb's Wren.
Habitat
Residential areas, city parks, farmlands, and woodland edges.
Behaviour
Breeding
The nest is cup shaped, made of sticks, grass and lined with feathers. 5-8 white, brown-speckled eggs are laid.
Song
A gurgling, bubbling, exuberant song, first rising, then falling
Call
References
- Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
- Second half of this thread was mostly about House Wren taxonomy
