Carolina Wren

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Carolina Wren

The Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) is a common 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....
of wren

Wren

The wrens are passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. There are about 80 species of true wrens in about 20 genus, though the name is also ascribed to other unrelated birds throughout the world....
resident in the eastern half of the USA, the extreme south of Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a Provinces and territories of Canada located in the Central Canada part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area....
and Quebec

Quebec

Quebec , in French language, Qu?bec , is a Provinces and territories of Canada in the Central Canada and Eastern Canada regions of Canada....
, Canada

Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, and the extreme northeast of Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism 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 Mexico....
. A distinct population in the Yucatan

Yucatán

Yucat?n is one of the States of Mexico of Mexico, located on the north of the Yucat?n Peninsula. The Yucatan peninsula includes three states: Yucat?n, Campeche, and Quintana Roo; all three modern states were formerly part of the larger historic state of Yucat?n in the 19th century....
Peninsula of Mexico and Belize

Belize

Belize , formerly British Honduras, is a country in Central America. Once part of the Maya civilization, and very briefly the Spanish Empire, it was most recently affiliated with the British Empire, prior to gaining its independence in 1981....
is treated either as a subspecies

Subspecies

In biology, subspecies is the taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a species. A subspecies is a taxonomic group which is less distinct than the Common descent or species from which it originates....
Thryothorus ludovicianus albinucha, or as a separate species, White-browed Wren Thryothorus albinucha.

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Encyclopedia

The Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) is a common species

Species

Wren

Ontario

Ontario is a Provinces and territories of Canada located in the Central Canada part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area....
and Quebec

Quebec

Quebec , in French language, Qu?bec , is a Provinces and territories of Canada in the Central Canada and Eastern Canada regions of Canada....
, Canada

Canada

Mexico

Yucatán

Belize

Subspecies

Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
Thryothorus. T. ludovicianus is the state bird

State bird

A state bird is the insignia of a state .See also:* List of Australian bird emblems* List of Indian state birds* List of U.S. state birds...
of South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a U.S. state in the Southern United States of the United States. It borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north....
; its specific name

Specific name

In zoological nomenclature, a specific name or specific epithet is the second part in the name of a species . The first part is the name of the genus....
ludovicianus means "from Louisiana

Louisiana

The State of Louisiana is a U.S. state located in the U.S. Southern States of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans....
".

Description

Typically 14 cm long and about 20 g in weight, it is a fairly large wren; among the United States species it is second largest after the Cactus Wren

Cactus Wren

The Cactus Wren is the largest North American wren, and is 18-23 cm long.Unlike the smaller wrens, the Cactus Wren is easily seen. It has the loud voice characteristic of wrens....
. The upperparts are rufous brown, and the underparts a strong orange-buff, usually unmarked but faintly barred on the flanks in the southwest of the range. The head has a striking pure white supercilium (eyebrow) and a whitish throat. The race albinucha is duller brown above and has additional white streaking on the head.

It is easiest to confuse with the Bewick's Wren

Bewick's Wren

The Bewick's Wren is a wren native to North America. At about 14 cm long, it is gray-brown above, white below, with a long white eyebrow. While similar in appearance to the Carolina Wren, it has a long tail that is tipped in white....
, a fairly close relative, which differs in being smaller but with a longer tail, grayer-brown above and whiter below. The Carolina and White-browed Wrens differ from the House Wren

House Wren

The House Wren, Troglodytes aedon, is a very small songbird of the wren family , Troglodytidae. It occurs from Canada to southernmost South America, and in most of suburban North America it is the single most common wren....
in being larger, with a decidedly longer bill and hind toe; their culmen

Culmen

Culmen can refer to:* Culmen * Culmen ...
has a notch behind the tip.

Song and calls

The Carolina Wren is noted for its loud song, popularly rendered as "teakettle-teakettle-teakettle". This song is rather atypical among wrens, which tend to sing songs which are similar to other wrens' songs. A given bird will typically sing several different songs. Only the male birds sing their loud song. The songs vary regionally, with birds in northern areas singing more slowly than those in southern areas.

The Carolina Wren also has a series of calls, including a rapid series of descending notes in a similar timbre to its song, functioning as an alarm call, and a very harsh and loud scolding call made to threaten intruders.

Ecology

The Carolina Wren is sensitive to cold weather. Since they do not migrate and stay in one territory the northern populations of Carolina wrens decrease markedly after severe winters. Because of this sensitivity to weather, gradually increasing temperatures over the last century may have been responsible for the northward range expansion seen in the mid-1900s.

Populations in Canada and the northern half of the US experience regular crashes following severe winters, but their high breeding productivity soon results in a return to higher numbers. These birds are generally permanent residents throughout their range and defend territory year round; some birds may wander north after the breeding season.

They eat insect

Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
s, found in leaf litter or on tree trunks; they may also eat small lizard

Lizard

Lizards are a large and widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 5,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains....
s or tree frog

Tree frog

Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as "treefrogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semi-aquatic....
s. In winter, they occasionally eat seeds, berries, and other small fruit

Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
s.

Reproduction

These birds prefer sites with dense undergrowth, either in mixed forests or in wooded suburban settings, in a natural or artificial cavity. The nest is a bulky, often domed structure, with a small hole towards the top. Nests of the more domestically-inclined wrens have been reported in a great variety of nooks and crannies in, about, or under buildings of various kinds, under bridges, or in holes in any structure such as a porch, fence-post, flowerpot, tree, house or barn. Almost any kind of receptacle may offer an acceptable nesting site. Pairs may mate for life.

Females typically lay between four to six eggs (normally over a period of several days) up to three times per year (but normally only twice). Eggs are oval, grayish-white and sprinkled with reddish-brown spots. Incubation is performed by the female only and lasts anywhere from 12-14 days, with the first young leaving the nest 12-14 days after hatching. Both the male and female feed the young. If conditions are right, the same nest may be used more than once.

Footnotes

External links

- USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- South Dakota Birds and Birding
- Picture link
(for United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
)
on the Internet Bird Collection
VIREO