Cobb's Wren

Troglodytes cobbi

The Cobb's Wren is a small, mousy brown bird endemic to the Falkland Islands. They tend to live near shorelines and feed on the invertebrates that live among the beach grasses and kelp. Their coloration and ground-dwelling nature makes them hard to spot, but they love to sing. You will most likely hear them before you see them.

Cobb's Wrens are one of the many, many species of island bird that is suffering from the introduction of non-native species. These little Wrens adapted to lives nesting in long, dense tussac grasses and ground crevasses. This allowed them, and their eggs, to remain safe from the avian predators that they share their home with.

...But then the people showed up on the Falkland Islands and they brought rats and cats with them on the ships. These new predators were easily able to hunt down the docile birds and their ground-laid eggs.

Cobb's Wrens are now completely extinct on the two largest islands in the Falkland chain, and are restricted to a couple of small, rat and cat free islands. Rat eradication has been ongoing for the past decade, with success on several of the islands. Population surveys are also ongoing, and their are hopes that the rat removal will encourage the Wrens to recolonize.

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IUCN Status : Vulnerable
Location : Falkland Islands
Size : Length up to 5in (13cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Passeriformes
Family : Troglodytidae -- Genus : Troglodytes -- Species : T. cobbi

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Carolina Wren

The Carolina Wren is a stout little cinnamon colored bird that lives in the eastern parts of North America. They are year-round dwellers, but are sensitive to the cold. Because of this, their more northern populations tend to shrink after cold winters, though in recent decades the warmer winters have caused the species to spread north.

Thryothorus ludovicianus

Carolina Wrens are unique among Wrens in that only the male is a loud singer. They actually have one of the loudest songs, by size, of any bird, and it is often described as sounding like teakettle-teakettle-teakettle. One captive male Wren was such a prolific singer that he was recorded doing 3,000 songs in a single day!

Pairs will form at just about any time of the year, and they will remain monogamous, often for several years. The male and female will stake out a territory that they will nest and forage for food in. They will build nests just about anywhere, including in trees, in mailboxes, on stumps, and even in old boots! A pair will raise multiple broods in a single year, with the female incubating and the male bringing food.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : Eastern North America
Size : Length around 7in (18cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Passeriformes
Family : Troglodytidae -- Genus : Thryothorus -- Species : T. ludovicianus

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