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keith
gallie from Warrington, UK, CC BY 2.0
<https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
| Troglodytes troglodytes |
You ever get those days that just drag with how tedious they are? The ones that leave you in need of a good glass of a wine and a lie down? That was my Friday so I guess I can excuse myself for not writing last night. But I still cannot pass up the opportunity to write about one of Europe’s smallest birds, the Eurasian wren for what is now a Songbird Saturday!
From afar, this
tiny bird is just a flicker of brown, hopping through the undergrowth, or
silhouetted on a garden fence, instantly recognisable by its often characteristically
cocked tail feathers and bobbing stance. But up close, you will see its plumage
consists of an array of shades from chestnut to buff to copper with contrasting
bars of chocolate brown and beige on the wingtips. Its beak is long and thin,
perfect for picking off insects and spiders found in bushes and bracken, while
its legs and feet, like those of a coot, seem over-sized in comparison to its rotund
little body. And then there’s its song: surprisingly loud for a bird its size
but richly delivered in a long warbling outburst with a characteristic trill
and fast resonant notes. This can fall to a rattling staccato buzz when an intruder
is nearby.
(below) Ken Billington, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Now I’ve
mentioned a lot about just how small this bird is, weighing less than an ounce (8-13g)
and measuring 10cm/4in max from beak-tip to tail (dwarfing only the Goldcrest which
measures a teensy 3 ½in/8 ½cm), as such it falls into the realm of cuteness,
which is accentuated by two features. Firstly, a quirk in its feather
coloration (a white brow stripe) makes it look a little angry – kind of like
that squeaking desert rain frog – and secondly, given that they have very
little body fat (a particularly harsh winter can kill of around ½ a population),
they have to huddle together like penguins for warmth. Aw. And these huddles
can get quite big: one in a Norfolk birdbox was recorded consisting of 61 wrens!
This is because, in winter, the males become more sociable and, if one is in
possession of a particularly accommodating nest, he will ‘advertise’ this,
inviting both sexes to share it with him. And speaking of nests, let’s talk
about the wren’s breeding behaviour.
The wren is
by far the most common breeding bird in the UK with an estimated 8.6million
breeding territories across the country (although it is scarcer in the North). The
male is fiercely territorial towards other males during the breeding season and
will build several unlined nests (small balls of leaves, moss, twigs, and grass
in crevices and banks) to which he calls a female. As such, one pair can have 2
broods of up to 6 young a year. This abundance makes them an iconic British
bird, however, there are many other species of wren around the world (primarily
in the Americas), from the boldly striped Fasciated Wren of Peru to the bicoloured
White-Headed Wren of Columbia and the Bay Wren of Costa Rica and Panama with
its deep rufous-brown plumage.
So, how can
you help your local wren population? A birdbox is always a good start, making
sure you get an open-front one (specifically for wrens and robins – like this),
and install it in the Autumn, hidden in vegetation below a 2m elevation. With
luck, you will start getting some prospective tenants by the end of the year.
Feeding wrens
is also vital. In the warmer months, you may see an opportunistic wren picking
off tadpoles and larvae in the shallows of a pond or hopping about in closely
shaded shrubs looking for spiders, ants, and other insects. But come winter,
they will certainly appreciate some help and you can do this by sprinkling
mealworms, grated cheese, fine breadcrumbs and oatmeal in low cover (under
hedges, around flowerbed borders, etc) because wrens do not readily visit bird-tables
or feeders. And as it is said in tradition that harming a wren brings bad luck,
then I’m sure this bit of hospitality could also be in your favour.
Facts taken from: the RSPB, Country Life, The Wildlife
Trusts, Carolina Birds, and the RSPB’s ‘Birds of Britain and Europe’ Guidebook
by Rob Hume.
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/wren/
https://www.countrylife.co.uk/nature/wren-8-things-know-britains-common-bird-174338
https://carolinabirds.org/HTML/Wren.htm
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0241302242/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
BIRDBOX INFO (RSPB): https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/how-you-can-help-birds/nestboxes/nestboxes-for-small-birds/making-and-placing-a-bird-box/
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