Wrens

Ten species of wrens breed regularly in North America.

The winter wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) breeds in moist, conifer-dominated forests, and winters in the eastern United States and western coastal forests. This species is the widest-ranging of the wrens, breeding extensively in North America, and also in Eurasia and North Africa, where it is known as the common wren. The winter wren breeds in a wide range of habitats, from boreal, conifer forests on offshore islands, to densely shrubby suburban gardens and parks.

The house wren (Troglodytes aedon) is a widespread and familiar species, breeding through much of southern Canada and extensively through the United States, except for parts of the southeast. The house wren winters as far south as southern Mexico and the Gulf Coast of the southern states. This species will often accept a nest box located in a shrubby habitat, and in this way can be lured to breed in suburban gardens.

Bewick's wren (Thryomanes bewickii) is a relatively common breeder in the western United States and south to Mexico, and is less abundant in the eastern states.

The Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) is a relatively abundant breeding species in southern Ontario and most of the eastern United States. This species is partial to thick, brushy habitats in open forests, along forest edges, and in parks and gardens.

The long-billed marsh wren (Cistothorus palustris) breeds abundantly in its habitat of tall marshes with bulrushes, cattails, and reeds across much of central and southern North America. This species winters in the southern United States and Central America. The sedge wren or short-billed marsh wren (Cistothorus platensis) is a less common species in its range in central-eastern North America, and breeds in shorter wet meadows and fens dominated by sedges. This species winters in coastal marshes of the southern Atlantic states and Gulf of Mexico.

The rock wren (Salpinctes obsoletus) breeds in semiarid rocky habitats through the western United States to Costa Rica in Central America.

The cactus wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus) is the largest of the North American wrens, achieving a length of almost 6.7 in (17 cm). This species breeds in deserts with thorny shrubs and large cactus plants, especially saguaro, from the southwestern United States through Central America.