Pacific Wren

Pacific Wren, split from Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) in 2010, is our smallest wren. Present in the county year round. Known to breed here. Not uncommon, but Pacific Wrens are often hard to see because they like to skulk in dense undergrowth. Favors moist forested areas with year-round water present. In Sonoma County, found mostly on the coastal side of the outer Coast Ranges. Fond of foraging in and around rotting logs and other fallen debris. Feeds almost entirely on insects, caterpillars, spiders and the like. Often seen fleetingly as an evenly dark, roundish shape near the ground, constantly in motion. As often as not, Pacific Wren’s presence is announced by vocalizations before it’s seen (if seen at all). Call is a short, slightly nasal timp! or timp! timp!, ofter compared to the chip note of a Wilson’s Warbler (Cardellina pusilla). The song is a surprisingly loud and startlingly long, complex succession of high-pitched, fluty, trilled notes--perhaps the prettiest song of any local species; sometimes it’s hard to believe so much sound can come from such a tiny bird.

Identified by its small size; plump, roundish outline; very short tail*; ruddy brown back; richly buff-colored breast; and sharp, pointed bill. Has a comparatively inconspicuous buff supercilium, but lacks the strong white “eyebrow” of Bewick’s Wren (Thryomanes bewickii). In the dense undergrowth this bird favors, often appears as a plain, very dark brown ball of energy with a very short, upcocked tail. Pacific Wren is much smaller than either House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) or Bewick’s Wren, which may be found in similar habitat. Unlikely to be confused with Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris), which is normally confined to boggy, marshy, reedy areas, but note that Pacific Wren lacks the distinctive white striping on the back of Marsh Wren.

*Note that the photograph above happens to capture the bird with its tail extended and from an angle that exaggerates the apparent length of the tail; Pacific Wren usually keeps its unusually short tail cocked.

Trivia: Older sources call this bird Winter Wren, which now refers to the very similar species found in the Eastern United States. Winter Wren is paler, duller, less richly colored than our Pacific Wren.

English synonyms: Winter Wren (before 2010 split)

Pacific Wren in other languages: German: Pazifikzaunkönig, Spanish: Chochín del Pacífico, French: Troglodyte de Baird, Chinese: 太平洋鹪鹩, Japanese: タイヘイミソサザイ(taihei misosazai)

(Language information from Avibase, Birds of Europe (Mullarney et al, Princeton Field Guide Series), and Birds of Asia (Mark Brazil, Princeton Field Guide Series).