tags: House Wren, Troglodytes aedon, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] House Wren, Troglodytes aedon, photographed at Smith Point, Chambers County (near Galveston), Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 1 November 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The House Wren is usually divided into three distinct subspecies groups and one or several distinct island-endemic subspecies. Some or all of these are often considered distinct species.
- Northern House Wren, Troglodytes (aedon) aedon group: Canada to southern USA
- Brown-throated Wren, Troglodytes (aedon) brunneicollis group: southern USA and central ranges of Mexico
- Cozumel Wren, Troglodytes (aedon) beani: Cozumel Island off the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
- Southern House Wren, Troglodytes (aedon) musculus group: southern Mexico, Central and South America
The taxa from the Lesser Antilles may also represent one or more separate species, but there is less agreement as to their subdivision, because as far as they have been studied to date, there is little clear biogeographical structure among these populations.
Three additional taxa from more oceanic islands have traditionally been included in the House Wren, but are increasingly considered as separate species:
- Cobb's Wren, Troglodytes cobbi: Falkland Islands (South Atlantic)
- Socorro Wren, Troglodytes sissonii: Socorro, Revillagigedo Islands (This species is a highly distinct form, appearing somewhat like a mixture between a House Wren and a Bewick's Wren, Thryomanes bewickii)
- Clarion Wren, Troglodytes tanneri: Clarion, Revillagigedo Islands (East Pacific)
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Eliminating:
the Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) because it would have a shorter tail and darker plumage;
the Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) and Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii), because despite the shadow, the distinct white eyebrow would extend into the shot- Carolina would also show white wingbars;
the Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) and Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis) because they would have streaks on their backs and shorter tails (the eyebrow to the Marsh would possibly be visible in this shot);
and the Rock Wren (Salpinctes obsoletus) which would have distinctly grey underparts and black and white spotting on the back...
so I think this must be a House Wren, Troglodytes aedon: upperparts rufescent brown; underparts buff; characteristic barring to the wings and tail and undertail coverts; a curved bill with blackish upper mandible; grey legs... because the eyebrow is in shadow I can't use it as a valid id but the other main differentiator is the relatively longish tail...
Altough field observations have traditionally held them to be conspecific, recent DNA analyses have shown that Troglodytes aedon, T. bruneicollis (Brwon-throated), and T. musculus (Southern) are indeed separate species and so the photo above is technically Troglodytes aedon aedon, the Northern House Wren.
By the general shape, I immediately thought of a wren, reinforced by the color and barring on the back and wings. Although it is hard to tell from this particular shot,but the eye bars seem to be very subtle, or at least is not a high contrast color like white, which made me think house wren. Combine that with a 'clear' breast and longer-then-average-tail-feathers for a wren, and I believe it is a House Wren.
Reminds me of a Carolina Wren.
Down here in Florida, and up against a good patch of woods, they are frequent visitors to my yard. I must have two or three pairs resident. Lively and bold critters, I have had them land on my arm and sneak into my house, they seem to eat insects. Lots of juicy bugs down here. And they are more than welcome to them. Florida ain't runnin out of bugs any time soon. They always struck me as very intelligent birds.
They have been known to build nests on my window sill where the window is tucked underneath the roof. The nest causes the sill to rot but I don't have the meanness to drive them off. I keep meaning to cover the sill in Ice Guard membrane to prevent the damage but every time I think of it the nest is busy being built or occupied. Oh well, everyone needs a hobby, and replacing window sills is as good as any.
Haven't seen them in a couple of days but the last three days have been rainy/stormy with dropping temperatures. Cold by Florida standards, 40F at night. When the sun comes out is when I usually see the wrens.