Last night, just before dusk, I took a stroll round the garden. Above me, perched right on top of the Weeping Willow tree, there was a bird singing its little heart out. At first I thought it must be a blackbird as they like to position themselves at a height and seranade the world with their strong, melodic vocals. However, when I stepped back and looked up it was a tiny wren!Facts I found out about the Wren
* Its latin name is Troglodytes troglodytes. Big title for a tiny bird.
* There are over 10 million wrens in the U.K. alone!
* Their vibrant song can be heard a kilometer away!
* When a Wren sings if you look closely then you can notice it shakes with effort because of the high pitch and loud capacity.
* Wrens are one of the smallest birds and measure nine to ten centimeters long (9-10cm) and weigh eight to thirteen grams (8-13g)
* A wren chick eats 500-600 meals in a day! The mother barely get time to feed herself.
* The male builds several nests and the female chooses one in which to lay her eggs.
* The wren lays 2 clutches of eggs per breeding season, 5-8 eggs in each clutch.
Although vast numbers of wrens die during a severe Winter, the large number of eggs they produce helps maintain their population.
Some Biology
The reason a bird a small as the Wren sings so loudly is because the syrinx is a resonant cavity which maintains or amplifies the notes.
Own up.... who said, "Awwwwwww" when daddy couldn't get the twig in the nestbox? :D
Wow-great info! We have little house wrens here in Massachusetts too. They are adorable with their little tails flicking up and down, and it's hard to believe such rich loud songs come from such a tiny body, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteHello Dee. :) I love to see them. According to statistics there are millions of wrens in the U.K., but they're not spotted as often as other birds.... probably because they tend to keep to the undergrowth most of the time. Except for when they're singing on top of my willow tree! :)
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