Wrentit
The Wrentit spends all of its adult life within the territory chosen in its first year. Individuals hesitate to cross open spaces of even 30 to 40 feet, and it is believed that the wide Columbia River effectively stops the species from entering Washington, even though that side of the river offers a suitable habitat. The Wrentit is uniformly brown with a faintly streaked breast and conspicuous pale eyes. Its name is apt, for its head, beak and eyes resemble those of a tit, whereas the long cocked tail and secretive habits are reminiscent of a wren. The song of the Wrentit is an accelerating series of musical notes running together into a trill and dropping slightly in pitch toward the end: peep peep peep-pee-pee-peepeepepeprrrr. Its call is a prolonged dry "growling" note. This species is far more often heard than seen.

The Wrentit gleans food from the bark surfaces of shrubs and eats primarily insects, spiders and small fruits. It builds a compact cup nest of coarse bark, plant fibers and grasses, which it conceals 1 to 4 feet above the ground in shrubs such as Baccharis.

The Wrentit is a year-round resident from the Columbia River on the northern border of Oregon southward along coastal chaparral into Baja California and in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California. It prefers chaparral, shrubs and brush.
Wrentit Range Map

Visit Shaw Creek Bird Supply and see our selection of Bird Houses, Bird Feeders, Hummingbird Feeders & Heated Bird Baths .

Copyright © 2004 Shaw Creek Bird Supply