House Wren

1916

(Troglodytes aedon)

Length, four and three-fourths inches. The only one of our wrens with wholly whitish underparts that lacks a light line over the eye.

Range: Breeds throughout the United States (except the South Atlantic and Gulf States) and southern Canada; winters in the southern United States and Mexico.

Habits and economic status: The rich, bubbling song of the familiar little house wren is one of the sweetest associations connected with country and suburban life. Its tiny body, long bill, sharp eyes, and strong feet peculiarly adapt it for creeping into all sorts of nooks and crannies where lurk the insects it feeds on. A cavity in a fence post, a hole in a tree, or a box will be welcomed alike by this busybody as a nesting site; but since the advent of the quarrelsome English sparrow such domiciles are at a premium and the wren's eggs and family are safe only in cavities having entrances too small to admit the sparrow. Hence it behooves the farmer's boy to provide boxes the entrances to which are about an inch in diameter, nailing these under gables of barns and outhouses or in orchard trees. In this way the numbers of this useful bird can be increased, greatly to the advantage of the farmer. Grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, bugs, and spiders are the principal elements of its food. Cutworms, weevils, ticks, and plant lice are among the injurious forms eaten. The nestlings of house wrens consume great quantities of insects.