Marsh Wren
Encyclopedia
The Marsh Wren is a small North America
n songbird
of the wren
family
. It is sometimes called Long-billed Marsh Wren to distinguish it from the Sedge Wren
, also known as Short-billed Marsh Wren.
Adults have brown upperparts with a light brown belly and flanks and a white throat and breast. The back is black with white stripes. They have a dark cap with a white line over the eyes and a short thin bill.
The male's song is a loud gurgle used to declare ownership of territory; western males have a more varied repertoire.
Their breeding habitat is marsh
es with tall vegetation such as cattails across North America
. In the western United States
, some birds are permanent residents. Other birds migrate
to marshes and salt marshes in the southern United States
and Mexico
.
These birds forage actively in vegetation, sometimes flying up to catch insect
s in flight. They mainly eat insects, also spider
s and snail
s.
The nest
is an oval lump attached to marsh vegetation, entered from the side. The clutch
is normally 4–6 eggs
, though the number can range from 3–10. The male builds many unused nests in his territory; he may puncture the egg
s of other birds nesting nearby.
This bird is still common, although its numbers have declined with the loss of suitable wetland habitat. Wholesale draining of marshes will lead to local extinction. Still, this species
is widespread enough not to qualify as threatened according to the IUCN.
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n songbird
Songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds . Another name that is sometimes seen as scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin oscen, "a songbird"...
of the wren
Wren
The wrens are passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. There are approximately 80 species of true wrens in approximately 20 genera....
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
. It is sometimes called Long-billed Marsh Wren to distinguish it from the Sedge Wren
Sedge Wren
The Sedge Wren, Cistothorus platensis, is a small songbird of the Wren family. It was formerly known as the Short-billed Marsh Wren, and in South America is known as the Grass Wren. There are about 20 different subspecies which are found across most of the Americas...
, also known as Short-billed Marsh Wren.
Adults have brown upperparts with a light brown belly and flanks and a white throat and breast. The back is black with white stripes. They have a dark cap with a white line over the eyes and a short thin bill.
The male's song is a loud gurgle used to declare ownership of territory; western males have a more varied repertoire.
Their breeding habitat is marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es with tall vegetation such as cattails across North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. In the western United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, some birds are permanent residents. Other birds migrate
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
to marshes and salt marshes in the southern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
These birds forage actively in vegetation, sometimes flying up to catch insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s in flight. They mainly eat insects, also spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s and snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
s.
The nest
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
is an oval lump attached to marsh vegetation, entered from the side. The clutch
Clutch (eggs)
A clutch of eggs refers to all the eggs produced by birds or reptiles, often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest.In birds, destruction of a clutch by predators, , results in double-clutching...
is normally 4–6 eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
, though the number can range from 3–10. The male builds many unused nests in his territory; he may puncture the egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s of other birds nesting nearby.
This bird is still common, although its numbers have declined with the loss of suitable wetland habitat. Wholesale draining of marshes will lead to local extinction. Still, this species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
is widespread enough not to qualify as threatened according to the IUCN.
External links
- Marsh Wren Information and Photos - South Dakota Birds and Birding
- Marsh Wren - Cistothorus palustris - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Marsh Wren Bird Sound