Sisters Country birds

The cheerful trill of the house wren [Troglodytes aedon] begins before sunup. Named for its proclivity to nest around our houses, they are comical to observe constructing their nests as they bring sticks that are too long to fit in the nest hole and it may take numerous attempts until they place the stick in the nest.

Grasses and feathers are used to line the stick nest, which also contains spider sacks that help control mites that are harmful to the nestlings. The males may build as many as 12 nesting sites to attract females and are known to destroy other birds' eggs and nestlings in order to protect their territory.

The house wren lays 3-10 white to pink-splotched eggs which take 9-16 days to incubate and then the fledglings emerge in 14-16 days.

The number of beetles, spiders, grasshoppers, and other insects that are gathered to feed these chicks is staggering. From my short observation the two adult house wrens each brought an insect to the nest every 4-5 minutes or less from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. for an approximate total of 400-500 bugs per day plus whatever the adults ate themselves.

Their breeding range extends from upper Canada down to the southern tip of South America. A collection of wrens is called a "herd" or a "chime."

For more house wren photos visit http://abird singsbecauseithasasong.com/recent-journeys.