Northern House Wren
Troglodytes aedon
A single male may build several 'dummy nests' in various cavities to provide the female with options and confuse potential predators.
- Scientific name
- Troglodytes aedon
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Troglodytidae › Troglodytes
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Open woodlands, forest edges, suburban gardens, and parks with ample brush for cover.
- Diet
- Insectivorous, primarily consuming spiders, beetles, caterpillars, and grasshoppers.
- Range
- North America, Central America, South America
- Size
- 11-13 cm length, 10-12 g weight
- Lifespan
- 7-9 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Predation by outdoor cats, pesticide exposure, and competition for nesting cavities.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless and delightful to observe. Maintain a respectful distance from nesting boxes to avoid stressing the parents. If found indoors, turn off lights and open a door to guide it out.
The house wren ( Troglodytes aedon ) is a very small songbird of the wren family, Troglodytidae. It occurs from Canada to southernmost South America, and is thus the most widely distributed bird in the Americas. It occurs in most suburban areas in its range and it is the single most common wren. Its taxonomy is highly complex and some subspecies groups are often considered separate species.
Photo: Bill Keim, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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