Bewick's Wren

The Bewick's wren (Thryomanes bewickii), a small North American bird, is a member of the wren family. It is the sole species in the genus Thryomanes. Measuring approximately 14 cm (5.5 inches) in length, it sports a grey-brown back and a white underbelly, with a distinctive long white eyebrow stripe. Its most notable feature is its long tail, marked with black bars and tipped with white, which it frequently fans or moves about, making it quite conspicuous.

Identification Tips

Adult Bewick's wrens have a slender, slightly curved beak and exhibit a plumage that is brown on top and light grey underneath. The white stripe above the eye is a key identification marker. The tail is long with black bars and white corners, often seen flicking and moving. Juveniles resemble adults but may have shorter, stockier beaks and faint speckling on the underbelly. Males and females are similar in appearance, making them difficult to differentiate by sight alone.

Habitat

Bewick's wrens favor thickets, brush piles, hedgerows, open woodlands, and scrubby areas, often in proximity to streams. They are more commonly found in drier habitats compared to house wrens, particularly in the Southwest. In California, they are known to inhabit chaparral shrublands.

Distribution

Historically, the Bewick's wren ranged from southern British Columbia, Nebraska, southern Ontario, and southwestern Pennsylvania, Maryland, south to Mexico, Arkansas, and the northern Gulf States. Presently, it is exceedingly rare east of the Mississippi River but remains prevalent along the Pacific Coast from Baja California to British Columbia, as well as in Mexico and parts of the Southwest.

Behaviour

Bewick's wrens are active and vocal birds. They are known to hang upside down to forage for food and exhibit a behavior of wiping their beaks on perches after eating. They do not typically migrate, although eastern populations, before their decline, would move to the Gulf Coast for winter.

Song & Calls

Both male and female Bewick's wrens produce short calls while foraging and a harsh scolding call when agitated. Males sing melodious songs to attract mates and defend their territories, with each male capable of up to twenty-two variations of the song pattern. Songs are learned from neighboring males, leading to regional differences in song patterns.

Breeding

Bewick's wrens form monogamous pairs for breeding, with courtship initiated by the male's song. Nest building is a joint effort, resulting in a cup-shaped nest lined with feathers and located in a cavity or birdhouse. They lay 5–7 white, brown-spotted eggs and can produce two broods per season.

Similar Species

The Carolina wren is similar in appearance but lacks the long tail with white tips that is characteristic of the Bewick's wren.

Diet and Feeding

Primarily insectivorous, Bewick's wrens glean insects and their eggs from vegetation and the ground. They are known to expand their diet to include seeds during winter months and will visit backyard feeders for suet, peanut hearts, hulled sunflower seeds, and mealworms.

Conservation Status

The IUCN Red List classifies the Bewick's wren as Least Concern due to its extensive range and population size. However, there has been a noted decline in its eastern range, and it has virtually disappeared from east of the Mississippi. Competition with house wrens for nesting sites and reforestation of open land are among the factors contributing to its decline in the east. In California, habitat loss due to development has affected its population, while in Washington, urban development has led to an increase in its numbers, albeit at the expense of the Pacific wren.