Winter Wren Troglodytes hiemalis Scientific name definitions

Editor's Note: Due to a recent taxonomic revision, this species account is still being edited and may contain content from an earlier version of the account.

The Winter Wren creeps mouse-like around the forest floor, and among downed logs and viney tangles, singing loudly from favorite perches. A superb songster, and more often heard than seen, this small, brown, cryptically colored wren generally inhabits dark, moist conifer and mixed conifer-hardwood forests.

The Winter Wren was split into 3 species, with T. pacificus (Pacific Wren) occurring in coniferous forests of the western U.S. and Canada, and T. troglodytes (Eurasian Wren), being the only wren species found in the Old World (Toews and Irwin 2008 Toews, D. P. L. and D. E. Irwin. (2008). Cryptic speciation in a Holarctic passerine revealed by genetic and bioacoustic analyses. Molecular Ecology 17 (11):2691-2705. Close ). The Winter Wren breeds in the northeastern U.S. and much of southern Canada, and overwinters primarily in the southeastern U.S. Although the 3 wren species are similar in plumage and morphometric traits, T. pacificus and T. hiemalis are genetically and phenotypically distinct in an area of range overlap in western Canada, where they exhibit strong differences in song (Toews and Irwin 2008 Toews, D. P. L. and D. E. Irwin. (2008). Cryptic speciation in a Holarctic passerine revealed by genetic and bioacoustic analyses. Molecular Ecology 17 (11):2691-2705. Close ).

This species is unusual among North American wrens in its association with mature forests during the breeding season. It uses structural elements of old-growth forest (snags, downed logs, and large trees) for nesting, foraging, and roosting. Clearcutting and some types of selective logging should reduce habitat suitability for the Winter Wren, and the species is likely sensitive to forest fragmentation.

Survey-wide population trends generally indicate increasing or stable populations for this forest-interior species. However, given the species' sensitivity to forest management and its associations with complex forest understory structure and rare community types, Winter Wren populations deserve continued monitoring.

Studies conducted on the Winter Wren in North America, include: Toews and Irwin 2008 Toews, D. P. L. and D. E. Irwin. (2008). Cryptic speciation in a Holarctic passerine revealed by genetic and bioacoustic analyses. Molecular Ecology 17 (11):2691-2705. Close and Rice et al. 1999b Rice, N. H., A. T. Peterson and G. Escalona-Segura. (1999b). Phylogenetic patterns in montane Troglodytes wrens. Condor 101:446-451. Close on systematics; Kroodsma 1980 Kroodsma, D. E. (1980). Winter Wren singing behavior: a pinnacle of song complexity. Condor 82:357-365. Close on song; Sabo and Holmes 1983 Sabo, S. R., and R. T. Holmes (1983). Foraging niches and the structure of forest bird communities in contrasting montane habitats. Condor 85:121–138. Close , and Holmes and Robinson 1988 Holmes, R. T. and S. K. Robinson. (1988). Spatial patterns, foraging tactics, and diets of ground-foraging birds in a northern hardwood forest. Wilson Bulletin 100:377-394. Close on food habits; Bent 1948b Bent, A. C. (1948). Life histories of North American nuthatches, wrens, thrashers, and their allies. United States National Museum Bulletin 195. Close on breeding biology, behavior, and habitat use.