TheEurasian wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) ornorthern wren is a very smallinsectivorousbird and the only member of thewren family found in theOld World, specifically in Eurasia and Africa (Maghreb). In Anglophone Europe, it is commonly known simply as thewren. It has a very short tail which is often held erect, a short neck and a relatively long thin bill. It is russet brown above, paler buff-brown below and has a cream buffsupercilium. The sexes are alike.
The scientific name is taken from theGreek word "troglodytes" (from τρώγληtroglē "hole", and δῠ́εινdyein, "creep"), meaning "hole-dweller", and refers to its habit of disappearing into cavities or crevices whilst huntingarthropods or to roost. Thetaxonomy of the genusTroglodytes is currently unresolved, as recent molecular studies have suggested thatCistothorus spp. andThryorchilus spp. are within theclade currently defined byTroglodytes.[4][5]
The Eurasian wren was formerly consideredconspecific with two North American species: thewinter wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) and thePacific wren (Troglodytes pacificus).[10][11] Some ornithologists place the Eurasian wren, the winter wren and the Pacific wren in a separate genusNannus that was introduced by the Swedish naturalistGustaf Johan Billberg in 1828 with the Eurasian wren as thetype species.[4][12][13][14]
It was estimated thatTroglodytes pacificus andTroglodytes troglodytes last shared acommon ancestor approximately 4.3 million years ago, long before the glacial cycles of thePleistocene, thought to have promotedspeciation in many avian lineages inhabiting the boreal forest of North America.[15]
There are 28 recognisedsubspecies of this taxonomically complex bird.[10] The disputed subspeciesT. t.orii, theDaito wren, became extinct around 1940 – if it was indeed a valid taxon and not merely based on an anomaly.[16] Thus inScotland, in addition to the typical birdT. t. indigenus, there are three distinct insular subspecies: one,T. t. hirtensis, is confined to the island ofSt Kilda; another,T. t. zetlandicus, to theShetland Islands; and the third,T. t. fridariensis, toFair Isle. TheSt Kilda wren is greyer above, whiter beneath, with more abundant bars on the back; theShetland wren andFair Isle wren are darker.[17]
The Eurasian wren is a plump, sturdy bird with rounded wings and a short tail, which is usually held cocked up. The adult bird is 9 to 10 cm (3.5 to 3.9 in) in length and has a wingspan of 13–17 cm (5.1–6.7 in).[18] It weighs around 10 g (0.35 oz).[19] It is rufous brown above, greyer beneath, and indistinctly barred with darker brown and grey, even on the wings and tail. The bill is dark brown and the legs are pale brown, the feet having strong claws and a large hind toe. Young birds are less distinctly barred and have mottled underparts.[17] Theplumage is subject to considerable variation, and where populations have been isolated, the variation has become fixed in one minor form or another.
The most common call is a sharp, repeated "tic-tic-tic", similar but faster and with less isolated notes compared to that of arobin. When the bird is annoyed or excited, its call runs into an emphaticchurr, not unlike clockwork running down.[17] Thesong is a gushing burst of sweet music, clear, shrill and emphatic. The male has remarkably long and complex vocalizations, with a series of tinkling trills one after the other for seconds on end. The bird has an enormous voice for its size, ten times louder, weight for weight, than acockerel. The song begins with a few preliminary notes, then runs into a trill, slightly ascending, and ends in full clear notes or another trill. At any season the song may be heard, though it is most noticeable during spring. Despite its generally mouse-like behaviour, the male may sing from an exposed low perch as its whole body quivers from the effort. Its song may sometimes be confused with that of thedunnock, which has a warble that is shorter and weaker. The wren's song also incorporates repeated trill sounds while the dunnock's does not.[20]
SubspeciesTroglodytes troglodytes nipalensis with its very dark plumage inSikkim, India[21]
The Eurasian wren is aPalearctic species. The nominate race breeds in Europe as far north as 67°N in Norway and 64°N in Sweden, Finland and Russia.[17][22] The bird's southern limit is northern Spain, southern France, Italy,Sicily and southern Russia. It also breeds inWestern Asia as far east as Syria. It is replaced by other races in Iceland, theFaroe Islands,Shetland, theHebrides, andSt Kilda, and further south in northwestern Africa, Spain and Portugal, theBalearic Islands,Corsica,Sardinia,Crete andCyprus. Other races also occur in southern Russia and Japan.[17]
It occupies a great variety of habitats, typically any kind of cultivated or uncultivated area with bushes and low ground cover; gardens,hedgerows,thickets, plantations, woodland andreed beds. It inhabits more open locations with clumps ofbrambles orgorse, rough pasture, moorland, boulder-strewn slopes, rocky coasts and sea cliffs.[17]
The wren is an ever-active bird, constantly on the move foraging for insects, in the open or among thick vegetation. It moves with quick jerks, probing into crevices, examining old masonry, hopping onto fallen logs and delving down among them. It sometimes moves higher in the canopy, but for the most part stays near the ground, often being flushed from under overhangs on banks. Sometimes it hops up the lower part of tree trunks, behaving like a miniaturenuthatch. Occasionally it flits away, its short flights swift and direct but not sustained, its tiny round wings whirring as it flies.[17]
This small, stump-tailed wren is almost as familiar in Europe as therobin. It is mouse-like, easily lost sight of when it is hunting for food, but is found everywhere from the tops of the highest moors to the sea coast.
It is a bird of the uplands even in winter, vanishing into the heather when snow lies thick above, a troglodyte indeed. It frequents gardens and farms, but it is quite as abundant in thick woods and in reed-beds.[23]
At night, usually in winter, it often roosts, true to its scientific name, in dark retreats, snug holes and even old nests. In hard weather, it may do so in parties, consisting of either the family or of many individuals gathered together for warmth.
Eggs of the subspeciesT. t. kabylorum -MHNTCuculus canorus canorus in a spawn ofTroglodytes troglodytes -MHNTAdult with four hatchlings; one has just been fed a spider or harvestman
In most of northern Europe and Asia, it nests mostly inconiferous forests, where it is often identified by its long and exuberant song. Although it is aninsectivore, it can remain in moderately cold and even snowy climates by foraging for insects on substrates such as bark and fallen logs. The male wren builds severalnests in his territory; these are called "cock nests" but are never lined until the female chooses one to use. The number of nests on a territory influences the female's choice of mate; she preferentially mates with a male that had constructed numerous nests.[24] Courtship includes display and posturing by the male. He sings with wings and tail half open, or with them drooping, sometimes with one wing extended, or the wings may be raised and lowered several times in quick succession.[17]
The neatly-domed nest has a side entrance and is built ofgrass,moss,lichen and dead leaves, whatever is available locally. It is often tucked into a hole in a wall or tree trunk or a crack in a rock, but it is often built inbrambles, a bush or a hedge, amongivy on a bank, in thatch, or in abandoned bird's nests such as those of thehouse sparrow,swallow,house martin anddipper. On making her selection, the female wren lines the nest generously with feathers.[17]
A clutch of five or six (range three to eleven)eggs are laid from April onwards. These average 16.6 by 12.7 mm (0.65 by 0.50 in) and are white with variable amounts of reddish-brown speckles, mostly on the broad end. The female alone incubates these, and they hatch after 14 to 15 days. The young are fed on insects, spiders and other small invertebrates; there is no record of the male feeding the young in the nest, but he does do so after they have fledged, which happens after about 16 days. There are usually two broods.[17]
Wrens are highlypolygamous, that is to say a male can have, at any one time, more than one female with an active nest on his territory. An active nest is one in which there are eggs or nestlings. A male has been recorded with four females breeding on his territory.[25] Bigamy and trigamy are the most common forms of polygamy.
Wren on a British farthing coin Wrens on a stamp from the Faroe Islands
In European folklore, the wren is the king of the birds, according to a fable attributed toAesop byPlutarch,[26] when theeagle and the wren strove to fly the highest, the wren rested on the eagle's back, and when the eagle tired, the wren flew out above him. Thus, Plutarch implied, the wren proved that cleverness is better than strength. The wren's majesty is recognized in such stories as theGrimm Brothers'The Willow-Wren and the Bear.Aristotle[27] andPlutarch called the wrenbasileus (king) andbasiliskos (little king). In German, the wren is calledZaunkönig (king of the fence). An old German name was "Schneekönig" (snow king),[citation needed] and in Dutch, it is "winterkoning" (winter king), which all refer toking. In Japan, the wren is labelled king of the winds, and the myth ofThe Wren Among the Hawks sees the wren successfully hunt a boar that the hawks could not, by flying into its ear and driving it mad.[28]
It was a sacred bird to theDruids, who considered it "king of all birds",[29] and used its musical notes for divination.[citation needed] The shape-shifting Fairy Queen took the form of a wren, known as "Jenny Wren" in nursery rhymes.[citation needed] A wren's feather was thought to be a charm against disaster or drowning.[citation needed]
The wren also features in the legend ofSaint Stephen, the first Christianmartyr, who supposedly was betrayed by the noisy bird as he attempted to hide from his enemies. Traditionally,Saint Stephen's Day (26 December) has been commemorated byHunting the Wren, wherein young wrenboys would catch the bird and then ritually parade it around town, as described in the traditional "Wren Song".The Wren, the Wren, the king of all birds, Saint Stephen's day was caught in the furze. Although he is little, his family's great, I pray you, good landlady, give us a treat.[30] The tradition, and the significance of the wren as a symbol and sacrifice of the old year, is discussed in Sir James Frazer'sThe Golden Bough.[31]
According toSuetonius, theassassination of Julius Caesar was foretold by an unfortunate wren. On the day before theIdes of March, a wren was seen being pursued in a frenzy by various other birds. With a conspicuous sprig oflaurel clamped in its beak, the wren flew desperately into theRoman Senate, but there its pursuers overtook it and tore it to pieces.[32]
Wrens have been featured on postage stamps from Albania, Alderney, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Faroe Islands, France, Germany, Britain, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey, the Netherlands, San Marino, the United States,[a] and Vatican City.[35]
The old Britishfarthing coin featured a wren on the reverse side from 1937 to 1960. The wren was chosen because it was thought of as Britain's smallest bird.[36]
The Eurasian wren is classified as "Least Concern" on theIUCN Red List due to its extremely large range, increasing population trend, and a globally substantial population size.[37]
The breeding population in Europe is estimated to range from 32.7 to 56.5 million pairs, translating to 65.3 to 113 million mature individuals.[38]
^The 1999 U.S. stamp features a "winter wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)" of thePacific Coast Rain Forest; this bird was subsequently classified as thePacific wren (Troglodytes pacificus).[34]
^del Hoyo, J. Elliott, A. & Christie, D. (2005)Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 10: Cuckoo-shrikes to Thrushes. Lynx Edicions.ISBN84-87334-72-5.
^Rasmussen, Pamela C.; Anderton, John C. (2012).Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Vol. 2: Attributes and Status (2nd ed.). Washington D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and Lynx Edicions. p. 353.ISBN978-84-96553-87-3.
^Peterson, R.; Mountfort, G.; Hollom, P.A.D. 1965.A Field Guild to the Birds of Britain and Europe. Collins
^Burn J. L., 1996, Polygyny and the Wren, D.Phil. thesis, University of Oxford
^Plutarch,Political Precepts xii.806e;Laura Gibb, tr.Aesop's Fable #238; Plutarch's brief account is referenced byErasmus,Adages iii.7.1, accounting for the hostility of the eagle ("a creature at war with everyone") towards the wren.
Cramp, Stanley; et al., eds. (1988). "Troglodytes troglodytes Wren".Handbook of the Birds of Europe the Middle East and North Africa. The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. V: Tyrant Flycatchers to Thrushes. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 525–542.ISBN978-0-19-857508-5.
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