The
Marsh Wren (
Cistothorus palustris) is a small
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
n
songbirdA songbird is a bird belonging to the order of Passeriformes , in which the vocal organ is developed in such a way as to produce various sound notes, commonly known as bird song...
of the
wrenThe wrens are passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. There are about 80 species of true wrens in about 20 generaThe genus eponymous of the family is Troglodytes....
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus...
. It is sometimes called
Long-billed Marsh Wren to distinguish it from the
Sedge WrenThe Sedge Wren, Cistothorus platensis, is a small songbird of the Wren family. It is also known as the Short-billed Marsh Wren and in South America as the Grass Wren. There are about 20 different subspecies which are found across most of the Americas...
, also known as Short-billed Marsh Wren.
Adults have brown upperparts with a light brown belly and flanks and a white throat and breast. The back is black with white stripes. They have a dark cap with a white line over the eyes and a short thin bill.
The male's song is a loud gurgle used to declare ownership of territory; western males have a more varied repertoire.
Their breeding habitat is
marshIn geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland which is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, and other herbaceous plants. Woody plants will be low-growing shrubs. A marsh is different from a swamp,...
es with tall vegetation such as cattails across
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
.
The
Marsh Wren (
Cistothorus palustris) is a small
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
n
songbirdA songbird is a bird belonging to the order of Passeriformes , in which the vocal organ is developed in such a way as to produce various sound notes, commonly known as bird song...
of the
wrenThe wrens are passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. There are about 80 species of true wrens in about 20 generaThe genus eponymous of the family is Troglodytes....
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus...
. It is sometimes called
Long-billed Marsh Wren to distinguish it from the
Sedge WrenThe Sedge Wren, Cistothorus platensis, is a small songbird of the Wren family. It is also known as the Short-billed Marsh Wren and in South America as the Grass Wren. There are about 20 different subspecies which are found across most of the Americas...
, also known as Short-billed Marsh Wren.
Adults have brown upperparts with a light brown belly and flanks and a white throat and breast. The back is black with white stripes. They have a dark cap with a white line over the eyes and a short thin bill.
The male's song is a loud gurgle used to declare ownership of territory; western males have a more varied repertoire.
Their breeding habitat is
marshIn geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland which is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, and other herbaceous plants. Woody plants will be low-growing shrubs. A marsh is different from a swamp,...
es with tall vegetation such as cattails across
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
. In the western
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, some birds are permanent residents. Other birds
migrateBird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. These however are usually irregular or in only one direction and are termed variously as nomadism, invasions,...
to marshes and salt marshes in the southern
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional 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...
.
These birds forage actively in vegetation, sometimes flying up to catch
insectInsects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million species that are already described. Insects represent more than half of all...
s in flight. They mainly eat insects, also
spiderSpiders are air-breathing chelicerate arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae modified into fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s and
snailThe word snail is a common name for almost all members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word snail is used in a general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. Snails lacking a shell or having only a very small one are...
s.
The
nestA bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term is popular in reference to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
is an oval lump attached to marsh vegetation, entered from the side. The
clutchA clutch of eggs refers to all the eggs produced by birds or reptiles often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest.-Size:Clutch size will differ greatly between species, sometimes even within the same genus. It may also differ within the same species due to many factors including...
is normally 4–6
eggsIn most birds and reptiles, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. To enable incubation the egg is usually kept within a favourable temperature range as it nourishes and protects the growing embryo. When the embryo is adequately developed it breaks out of the egg in the...
, though the number can range from 3–10. The male builds many unused nests in his territory; he may puncture the
eggIn most birds and reptiles, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. To enable incubation the egg is usually kept within a favourable temperature range as it nourishes and protects the growing embryo. When the embryo is adequately developed it breaks out of the egg in the...
s of other birds nesting nearby.
This bird is still common, although its numbers have declined with the loss of suitable wetland habitat. Wholesale draining of marshes will lead to local extinction. Still, this
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
is widespread enough not to qualify as threatened according to the IUCN.
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