Pacific Wren

About the Pacific Wren

The Pacific wren (Troglodytes pacificus) is a very small North American bird and a member of the mainly New World wren family Troglodytidae. The species was formerly lumped together with either the winter wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) of eastern North America alone, or also with the Eurasian wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) of Eurasia, then under the merged name of northern wren with the scientific name T. troglodytes having priority.

It breeds along the Pacific coast from Alaska to California and inland as far as Wyoming and the Black Hills of South Dakota. It migrates through and winters across the western half of the United States and Canada. The scientific name is taken from the Greek word troglodytes (from trogle a hole, and dyein to creep), meaning 'cave-dweller', and refers to its habit of disappearing into cavities or crevices whilst hunting arthropods or to roost.

Rufous brown above, richly colored below, barred with darker brown and dusky, even on wings and tail. The bill is dark brown, the legs pale brown. Young birds are less distinctly barred. By studying the songs and genetics of individuals in an overlap zone between Troglodytes hiemalis and... Wikipedia →