Many backyard birders are familiar with this sassy little “attitude in feathers” known as the Carolina Wren. The ‘Caro Wren’ is a permanent resident (they are not migratory) and most common in the southern U.S. As naturalist and author Scott Weidensaul writes in his 2007 article The Climate Bird Count (PDF) on the Audubon web site, with just the few degrees of warming recorded in the last 30-year decadal oscillation since the mid 1970's, these feisty little brown jobs are just one of the species to have expanded their range (at least temporarily) throughout the northern U.S. and Canada.
Descriptive Body Markings
Carolinas could be mistaken for sparrows except for their high tail angle and long downward curved bills. While most wrens are brown, the Carolinas have a solid cinnamon-colored back, a white throat, and a buff underbody. They are round, chunky little birds, averaging about 5 ½ “ long with a wingspan approximating 7”, and sporting a fair amount of pure white markings including narrow white wing bars and a pronounced white stripe above the eyes, like an eyebrow, that continues gracefully toward the back of the head.
Diet and Social Behavior
Caro Wrens are just one of the nearly 80 species that form the main family of wrens called Troglodytidae, a term meaning ‘cave dwellers’ that may be fondly flung at dedicated students by their party-going friends. The wren is so-dubbed because of its tendency to fearlessly disappear into small, dark holes in trees, between boulders, under bridges and porches, and into building crevices, looking for beetles or a spider lunch. They live on a high protein diet of primarily insects and no creepy-crawly is safe from them. Observers confirm that they are loaded with personality, flitting about after prey and turning on a dime. Yet overall, they tend to forage like chickens, spending the bulk of their time poking around on or near the ground.
The Carolina is also the second largest wren in America, although it is still not very big, and as a species, they tend to be trusting around humans and loudly trill their arrival at feeders. They are insectivores supreme and certainly earn their keep by backyard bug hunting. During snowy winters when bug meals are scarce, suet feeders, leftover berries, ground walnuts, and plant matter may save their lives. Their intolerance to cold is less of an issue than the lack of their natural food.
Breeding and Nesting
Once mated, Carolina pair bonds are for life. As mentioned on Animals & Nature on the Squidoo web site, some of their favorite nesting areas are near residence doorways, including open porches and even momentarily open garages, as well as hanging plants, into which they insert their tiny nests. If the weather remains hospitable, they can produce up to three broods per year of 3-6 young, re-using the same nest each time.
The following year, the young tend to remain in the family fold, so that a keen observer could recognize last year's mated pair who might now be raising a new brood, being followed about by three to five young adults from previous nesting cycles. Carolinas are among the species of wrens that are documented to use a cooperative breeding system.
In cold weather, they may continue to use the nesting area as a night roost. As many as eight to ten Carolinas have been observed disappearing into the thick leafy material where they presumably cuddle up together and keep warm on cold winter nights.
Resources:
How to Distinguish Between the Destructive House Wren and the Carolina Wren, eHow,com, 4605519
Carolina Wren, Cornell University web site, Allaboutbirds.org/guide/carolina_wren/id
Many Wren Species Found to be Pack Animals Marie Thomas, suite101.com; Birds, a87271
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Marie Thomas - Marie Thomas (RieT) is an author in multiple genres, with 18 years in technical writing, and freelance work in science, biographical, and ...
