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House Wren

House Wren
The House Wren is probably the most abundant of the Wren species. Attracting them can be as easy as adding a bird house specifically built for them. Even if no such bird house is offered, these birds are likely to find somewhere or something to nest in if pressed to do so.

Their nesting and feeding habits are easily observed as these birds tend to be somewhat tolerant of humans. Their relentless searching for insects during the nesting phase can be an asset to the backyard gardener.

Description

Unlike many others, House Wrens do not have brightly colored feathers. Measuring 5 inches long with a plump body and a short tail. The upperparts are unstreaked and grayish brown while the underparts are grayish white. Notice the missing eye stripe that is common in other wrens.

The females and juveniles look the same as the adult male although recent fleglings are noticeably smaller and their song isn't as sure as the adult male. All in all we would say they have no prominent field marks.

If you spend any time at all watching these birds, you'll easily know the extent of its territory.

The male usually has three prominent perches from which he defends his territory of 1/2 - 3/4 acres.

Mating Habits

Easily attracted to wren houses the male arrives first in early Spring and begins to establish his territory. You'll know he has arrived when you begin hearing him sing from his perches.

This songster will sing from dusk to dawn. The singing is mostly done during the mating season.

As you watch, you'll notice the male begins placing sticks into prospective nest holes. He may build as many as twelve different nesting sites.

After pairing with a mate, the male takes the female to each of the nesting sites he has begun building.

The female selects the one she likes and begins to fill the nest completely with more twigs. Then she makes a small depression at the back of the cavity which she lines with pine needles and grass for egg laying.

Interesting to note, spider egg sacs are part of the make up of nest building. It's thought that they use the spider egg sacs to help control mites in the nest. The spiders hatch and eat the mites.

House wrens are cavity nesters and as such, are easily attracted to birdhouses. In fact, these birds seem to prefer man-made nest boxes to natural cavities.

Nesting Habits

Eco-Chickadee and Wren Bird House

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The nesting site can be located anywhere from 4-30 ft. above ground. After choosing and rebuilding the nest, the female will lay one egg each day until a clutch of 5 or 6 eggs are laid. The eggs are white with brown marks.

Incubation time last 12-15 days. During this time the female will leave the eggs from time to time to feed. Sometimes it may look like the male is bringing food to the female but more likely he is anticipating the feeding of the young. Although an occassional feeding may occur. After the eggs hatch, it will take another 16-17 days before the young leave the cavity.

For their size, these birds can be very aggressive, often piercing other cavity nesting birds eggs. Thought should be given as to whether or not to place birdhouses for Wrens. If you're trying to attract other cavity nesting birds such as Bluebirds, you may not want to allow House Wrens to nest around your property. Wrens will take over even active nest of other birds by destroying eggs.

The House Wrens diet consist almost entirely of insects.

Rarely bothered by general human presence, if the bird watcher gets to close to the nest, she stands a good chance at being scolded.

Wrens will attempt raising two broods a season. Second broods are raised at a different nest site. Cleaning of any bird house should be done between broods. First, cleaning should be done in late fall and the second cleaning should be done after the first nesting.

If you don't have any nesting before about June, but you get them after that time, that usually means it's their second nesting and that they have nested somewhere else already. The breeding seasons runs from March to July. When Autumn arrives these tiny birds will begin heading southward and spend the winter in the southern states and into Mexico.

Learn About

Wren Houses For Backyard Nesting

Learn the habits of the Carolina Wren

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What Other Visitors Have Said

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Daddy Checking on Mom 
Two wrens decided to make their home in our garage this spring. At first attempt, the daddy bird built a nest in an old hat sitting on the shelf, but …

Wren nest in shamrock plant 
A pair of Carolina Wrens have built their nest in my shamrock plant on the front porch. Last year, I found an incomplete nest there...and removed it. …

Little Wren Launching 
I have had this box which was more of a decoration than a nesting box for about 5 years. This is the first year a wren made a nest in it. I watched …

Wren in Husband Boot 
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Wren Nesting Indoors 
This is a story of a wren nesting indoors in a hanging plant and how the author managed to move the nest outside. In the spring and fall, when the weather …

Wren Nesting in Door Wreath 
For several years now there have been Carolina Wrens attempting to build a nest in the wreath on my front door. This year they must have decided that …

Wren Nesting in Roosting Pocket 
I could not believe how near and open this wren had chosen to build its nest. We have had this roosting basket for two years and never had a bird even …

Our Singing Friends 
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Wren Nesting In Fireplace Gas Tank Lid 
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Our Little Wren 
We have several nesting boxes in our yard for the wrens & this year they chose the one my husband (Dan) built that has a front porch. We can sit on …

Peeping Wren 
If you look in the "hole" in the middle of this nest, you can see the momma Carolina Wren sitting on her eggs. She and her mate built their nest in …

Sparrow kills House Wren 
Last year my son built a birdhouse in his first year of woodworking in junior high. I was so proud I painted a cute garden scene on the front and we put …

Cactus Wren saying Happy Valentines day 
Just look at the bottom inside of this Wrens tail feathers! The Cactus Wren can be one of the most annoying birds, to have around your house. They are …

Wren Sequel/Snake Story, " Experiences in SE Virginia" 
Follow-on to the sad Wren story previously posted; the first part is somewhat repetitious, the second part is entirely new. On July 4, 2009 a black …

Wren Nesting In Birdfeeder 
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Gas Lamp Wren Brood 
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Shoe, Sweet ,Shoe 
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Wren Experinces in SE Virginia 
For years we’ve had wrens. One year they put a nest on our front porch in a wooden Dutch shoe--another year on a side porch through a hole in the screen …

Possible abandoned house wren nest? 
PLEASE HELP! I am not sure what to do, if anything. I have a small bird house in the lilac tree outside my bedroom window. I have been enjoying watching …

Wren In Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter 
One day my husband went to water his tomato plant that was hanging off our front porch. He was greatly surprised when a very angry wren flew out at him. …

INSIDE my SHED? 
My husband is building a wonderful "Work Shed" that is 90% finished where I will have a studio work on whatever "Craft" I'm into at the time. The building …

A cactus Wren's SNOW experience 
I have Cactus Wrens all over the place here in the high desert Mtns. I used to get so frustrated with these little buggars, tearing up my patio furniture, …

Wren Rescue Story 
This spring my wren built it's nest in a "cheapy" wooden bird house that I had placed above my light fixture on my back porch. I noticed the activity there …

Wren Interesting Nesting Choice 
I first noticed this bird in May, by the short aggressive calls that were very loud from such a small bird. I figured the bird was looking for a mate. …

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WRENS NESTING IN MAILBOX 
Upon opening my mailbox one morning, I noticed a lot of leaves and pine straw and thought it had been blown in from a bad storm the night before. …

Gourd works for Housewrens 
A relative was going to grow and finish gourd birdhouses and sell them on Ebay. We ended up with a complimentary prototype. I figured it was just a tree …

Wren's Nesting in Fan Not rated yet
I guess it was around mid March when entering my front porch one day I noticed what appeared to be a nest in the base of my fan. I was very interested …

Wrens Winter Nights Not rated yet
We have a family of wrens that are around all winter on Long Island. If we do not close the garage door early enough at night, as many as three wrens …

My New Wren Neighbor! Not rated yet
Today, a hot day in early July, I looked out my back door and noticed some activity around the little white birdhouse that hangs from a tree. This …

Strange Places Wrens Nest Not rated yet
My husband noticed a little bird bringing sticks and tucking them into to flower pot outside our patio door. He brought it to my attention. We watched …

Wren Nesting In Cacti Not rated yet
I just noticed this nest this morning. It was constructed very quickly as I watered the Christmas cacti last Friday before leaving for the weekend and …

Wren Nesting in Basket Not rated yet
I had a small basket hanging on my front door filled with flowers. I started noticing a small bird flying in and out of the basket and after a week or …

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