Wonders of Wildlife: Carolina Wren

Carolina Wren

Scientific Name: Thryothorus ludovicianus

Found in Alabama: Year-round, statewide

Diet: Carnivore (eats animals), specifically insectivore (eats insects)

Carolina Wren
flickr – Kelly Colgan Azar

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CLASSIFICATION

Scientists use basic traits to
group animals into different taxonomic
classes.

For a taxonomic classification chart comparing key traits of common backyard wildlife,
CLICK HERE!

What type of animal am I?

I am a vertebrate (an animal with a spine or backbone).
I am warm-blooded, so I can control my body temperature.
I have feathers on the outside of my body that keep me warm.
I breathe with lungs just like you.
I have 2 legs.
I have wings.

The Carolina Wren is a BIRD!

IDENTIFICATION TIPS

Size:

Relatively small and plump
Range in length from 4.7 – 5.5 inches
Wingspan of 11.4 inches
Weigh less than 1 ounce

Key Characteristics:

Rusty brown color on the back
Lighter cinnamon or buff color on underside
Throat is light in color
Thin black barring on wings, tail, and undertail
Distinct white stripe above and beyond the eye
Tail is tilted upward
Bill is long and slender with a slightly down-curved shape

Young:

Similar in appearance to the adults but coloration is more dull or pale
Some dull black on the chin and sides
Feathers are more loosely arranged

Carolina Wren
Wikimedia – Dan Pancamo

PHYSICAL AND BEHAVIORAL ADAPTATIONS

Carolina Wren Searching for Food
pixabay – GeorgeB2

PHYSICAL ADAPTATIONS

Carolina wrens use their beaks to search for and prepare food:

Carolina wrens can often be seen on the ground searching for food or “hitching” (climbing) up and down trees probing the bark for food.
They use their long, slender down-curved bills to turn over leaves or probe bark while searching for insect prey (animals they eat).
They also use their bill to hammer on and tear apart larger prey items so that they are a managable size to eat.

Birds can fly:

Birds have feathers on their wings rather than hair like humans. Feathers are light, waterproof, and are adjustable for flight control.
Birds have lightweight beaks instead of heavy jaws and teeth like humans.
Most bones in their bodies are hollow or honeycombed, making them very lightweight. Some of their bones are fused for increased efficiency and lighter weight.
Birds have a larger and more efficient respiratory system than humans do since flight is a physically-demanding activity.

Birds can digest whole prey:

Birds do not have teeth and are not able to chew food. Because of this, they have a specialized part of their stomach, called a gizzard, that helps with digestion by grinding food.
The small stones, sand, and grit that birds pick up while they are eating are stored in the gizzard.
Once food is swallowed and makes its way to the gizzard, it is pulverized by the grit and stomach muscles.
Some birds like chickens, ducks, and turkeys have thick, muscular gizzards. Other birds that eat food items that are easy to digest, such as nectar and soft-bodied insects, have thin-walled gizzards.

BEHAVIORAL ADAPTATIONS

Carolina wrens are diurnal:

They are active during the day (diurnal).

Carolina wrens defend territories:

Carolina wrens defend their territories using songs and alarm calls (special sounds made if a threat is spotted).
Males and females will both partake in the alarm calling behavior.
In addition to their vocal defense, they sometimes position themselves horizontally with their head facing the threat while holding out their wings and fanning the tail.
They may also chase and peck smaller intruders or predators (animals that eat them) like chipmunks.

Carolina wrens make displays:

Male Carolina wrens try to attract females through several behaviors.
The males sing to females to indicate the location and quality of their territory.
If a female shows interest, the male hops around her with his body feathers puffed out and his tail pointing upward.
The male will sometimes present the female with a food item.
Once a pair is formed, they tend to stay together for life.

LIFE CYCLE

Life Cycle Stages of the Carolina Wren

Nest:

Male and female both contribute materials for building a dome shaped nest.
Nest is made from plant materials such as grass, pine needles, mosses, and sticks.
They nest is lined with soft materials like animal fur.
The nest is built within a covered area that provides protection such as a natural cavity, an old woodpecker hole, tangled vines, or old stumps.

Eggs:

Females lay 3-6 hard-shelled eggs per brood.
Eggs are creamy white or pinkish white with rushty colored flecks.
They have between 1 and 3 broods each year.

Young:

Babies hatch from the egg after 12 – 16 days.
When they hatch, they have soft light gray down feathers.
They remain in the nest for 10 – 16 days.

Life Span:

Can live up to 6 years in the wild

Carolina Wren Nest
flickr – Benjamin Stone

HABITAT NEEDS

Natural Habitat Needs	Adults	Young
Food	Mainly eat insects. Forage on the ground and cracks around rocks and stumps in search of invertebrates (animals without a spine or backbone) including spiders, beetles, caterpillars, moths, bees, ants, grasshoppers, crickets, cockroaches, and snails. Rarely eat plant material but occasionally they will eat seeds, acorns, and fruit pulp from sweetgum, poison ivy, and bayberry They only eat plant material during times when insects are scarce.	Young are fed a variety of invertebrates (animals without a spine or backbone) including caterpillars, beetles, crickets, and grasshoppers. Young are fed directly by both parents who place food items directly in the mouths of the young. While female sits with the eggs or young, the male will bring food items to her.
Water	Hydration is obtained through food sources. They are likely to drink from shallow sources of still water.	Hydration is obtained through food sources.
Shelter	Prefer to live in wooded areas with dense vegetation (plants) such as thickets, lowland swamps, and other overgrown areas. They can be found in oak hardwood forests, mixed oak and pine forests, and oak and hickory forests.	Young remain in nest for up to 2 weeks after hatching. They become independent 4 weeks after leaving the nest.
Places to Raise Young	Build nests within natural cavities or other covered areas. Use grass, pine needles, mosses, sticks, and other plant materials in the nest. Line nests with animal fur. Nest is usually built less than 12 feet above the ground.

If you want to offer resources in your backyard habitat for this species, consider the suggestions below.

Backyard Habitat Needs	Adults	Young
Food	Do not remove brush piles that might attract insects. Place bird feeder near brush pile and provide peanuts, sunflower, and suet in birdfeeder.	Provide food sources for the parents, as they feed the young.
Water	Provide a birdbath if a stream or pond is not located nearby.	Hydration is obtained through food sources.
Shelter	Allow areas of overgrowth; Do not remove brush pile	Do not remove materials that parents might use to make nests such as twigs, pine needles, and grass clippings.
Places to Raise Young	Do not remove tree snags or stumps that might provide a covered area in which they can build a nest. Do not remove small twigs and grass clippings. Provide a nest box (make sure to have it in place before breeding season begins in early Spring). Carolina wrens readily nest in other manmade cavities such as mailboxes, watering cans, and even boots or shoes that are left outside.

ECOLOGICAL ROLE

Food Source:

Adult Carolina wrens are likely eaten by Cooper’s hawks and sharp-shinned hawks.
Carolina wren eggs and nestlings are often consumed by squirrels, black rat snakes, foxes, chipmunks, and raccoons.

Insect population control:

Carolina Wrens have an effect on the populations of the invertebrates that they use as a food source.

Predation by cats is the number one direct, human-caused threats to birds in the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S., as many as 2.4 billion birds are killed by cats each year.
To read more about this,
CLICK HERE!

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