Winter Wren

Troglodytes troglodytes L 4" (10 cm)

Photo by Lang Elliott. Listen to a winter wren.

On a per-pound basis, the winter wren generates more song for its weight than any other North American songbird. This stubby-tailed, chocolate-brown mouse of a bird frequents wooded streamside habitats and coniferous forests, both in winter and summer. The long burbling song can be given from an exposed treetop perch in spring, or from inside a jumble of logs and tree roots when the wren takes a break from foraging. The winter wren nests across the northernmost states and Canadian provinces, and a high elevations in mountain ranges to the south. Winter wrens can be found almost anywhere there are dense woods. The more jumbled and tangled the forest floor is, the better.