Length: 9-10cm
Wingspan: 13-17cm
Conservation Status: Green
Description: As one of the smallest of European birds the wren is instantly recognisable with a tiny, round body, brown plumage and short perky tail. Both males and females look alike and juveniles are similar to the adults but with a warmer tone to their plumage. Wrens may be tiny but rather surprisingly they have one of the loudest voices around. It has a loud song consisting of a series of clear, shrill notes and its scolding alarm call can even scare a cat!
Nesting: Wrens enjoy a wide variety of habitats as long as they offer cover near to the ground. They are particularly fond of undergrowth in woods, thickets and tangles especially in bushy gardens and parks. One of wrens' unique breeding rituals is that the male builds several dome shaped moss nests for the female to choose from. Usually these nests are in bushes, holes in walls or trees but they have been recorded nesting in bird houses, woodpecker holes, empty cow skulls, abandoned hornet nests, deserted swallow nests, watering pots, tin cans, teapots, flowerpots and even old boots. Once the female has picked her ideal nest the others are left unused. Wrens are typically double brooded producing 5-7 whitish eggs that are delicately speckled with red and eggs incubate for 14-16 days.
Feeding: Wrens like small insects and their larvae, spiders and worms. They rarely visit bird tables - instead they creep under bushes or along walls snapping up insects in their sharp little beak, so if you are hoping to tempt a wren into your garden it’s best to leave food on the ground for them.
Information and image from Garden Bird Supplies
If you want to attract wrens to your garden then you may be interested in the following products:
Spherical Wren House
|
