The Carolina
Wren - Thryothorus ludovicianus - is a common species of wren,
resident in the eastern half of the US,
the extreme southern Ontario and Northeast Mexico. These birds are generally permanent
residents throughout their range and defend territory year round.
Description
It is second
largest Wren in North America. The upperparts
are rufous brown, and the underparts a strong orange-buff, usually unmarked but
faintly barred on the flanks in the southwest of the range. The head has a
striking pure white supercilium (eyebrow) and a whitish throat.
Call
The Carolina Wren
also has a series of calls, including a rapid series of descending notes in a
similar timbre to its song, functioning as an alarm call, and a very harsh and
loud scolding call made to threaten intruders. This bird is noted for its loud
song, popularly rendered as "teakettle-teakettle-teakettle". Only
the male birds sing their loud song. The songs vary regionally, with birds in
northern areas singing more slowly than those in southern areas.
Food
They eat insects,
found in leaf litter or on tree trunks; they may also eat small lizards and tree
frogs. In winter, they occasionally eat seeds, berries, and other small fruits.
Insects and spiders make up the bulk of this wren’s diet. Common foods include
caterpillars, moths, stick bugs, leafhoppers, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets,
and cockroaches.
Breeding
A pair bond may
form between a male and a female at any time of the year, and the pair will
stay together for life. Members of a pair stay together on their territory
year-round, and forage and move around the territory together. These birds
prefer sites with dense undergrowth, either in mixed forests or in wooded
suburban settings, in a natural or artificial cavity. The nest is a bulky,
often domed structure, with a small hole towards the top. Females typically lay
between four to six eggs, up to three times per year. Eggs are oval,
grayish-white and sprinkled with reddish-brown spots. Incubation is performed
by the female only and lasts anywhere from 12–14 days, with the first young
leaving the nest 12–14 days after hatching. Both the male and female feed the
young.
Conservation Status – Least Concern
The Carolina Wren
thrives over much of the eastern United States. Icy, snowy winters
can abruptly reduce local populations, but they soon recover. In fact, the
Carolina Wren has been pushing northward with rising average winter
temperatures over the past century or so. The species has probably benefited
from forest fragmentation in some areas and from reforestation in others—both
processes create the tangled, shrubby habitat these birds use.
Birdwatching
This shy bird can
be hard to see. In summer it can seem that every patch of woods in the eastern United States
rings with the rolling song of the Carolina Wren. Look, or listen for Carolina
Wrens singing or calling from dense vegetation in wooded areas, especially in
forest ravines and neighborhoods. These birds love to move low through tangled
understory; they frequent backyard brush piles and areas choked with vines and
bushes.
South
Carolina Hotspots
Cape Romain International Reserve
Francis Beidler
Forest and four holes swamp.....
Hilton Pond
ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge
Santee National Wildlife Refuge
Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
Audubon Swamp
Garden
South Carolina Preserves
Black River Swamp Preserve
Francis Beidler
Forest
Peachtree Rock
Preserve
Waccamaw River Preserve
Red Bluff Marsh
Preserve
Cliffs at Glassy
Preserve