Sedge Wren
Sedge Wren
Cistothorus stellaris
At a Glance
Related to the Marsh Wren but different in some key habits, the Sedge Wren is a rather mysterious creature for many birders. It is often hard to see as it creeps about in damp sedge meadows of the east and midwest, occasionally coming up to give its dry rattling song. As a summer resident it is oddly erratic in many areas, showing up and breeding one summer and then vanishing again. Overall, its numbers seem to be gradually declining.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Perching Birds, Wrens
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Coasts and Shorelines, Fields, Meadows, and Grasslands, Freshwater Wetlands, Saltwater Wetlands
Region
California, Eastern Canada, Florida, Great Lakes, Mid Atlantic, New England, Plains, Southeast, Texas, Western Canada
Behavior
Direct Flight, Running
Population
9.500.000
Range & Identification
Migration & Range Maps
Somewhat nomadic in summer, appearing and breeding where habitat conditions are favorable in a given year.
Description
4-4 1/2" (10-11 cm). Buffy overall with narrow streaks on crown and back. Has shorter bill, much less obvious eyebrow, more pattern on wings than Marsh Wren. Compare to marsh sparrows.
Size
About the size of a Sparrow
Color
Black, Brown, Tan, White
Wing Shape
Rounded
Tail Shape
Rounded, Short, Square-tipped
Songs and Calls
A series of harsh notes, sounding like two pebbles tapping together; often heard at night.
Call Pattern
Flat
Call Type
Buzz, Chirp/Chip, Trill
Habitat
Grassy marshes, sedgy meadows. Breeds mostly in damp meadows of grass or sedges, also in lush hayfields and other fields with dense low growth and scattered bushes. Generally not in deep-water marsh, but may be along their grassy edges. Winters in rank weedy meadows, coastal prairies.
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Behavior
Eggs
4-8. White, unmarked. Incubation is by female only, about 14 days.
Young
Both parents feed young but female may do more. Young leave nest about 12-14 days after hatching.
Feeding Behavior
Forages very low in dense low growth of sedges and grass, creeping about and searching for insects among the vegetation and on the ground. May sometimes make short flights to catch insects in the air.
Diet
Mostly insects. Diet is not known in detail, but feeds on a wide variety of insects including true bugs, beetles, moths, caterpillars, grasshoppers, ants, flies, and many others. Also eats many spiders.
Nesting
Very erratic in its choice of nesting territory, little colonies springing up one year and vacated the next. One male may have more than one mate. Adults often puncture the eggs of other birds nesting nearby (including those of other Sedge Wrens). Nest: Male may build several incomplete "dummy" nests that are never used. Real nest is built very low among standing grass or sedges in wet meadow, up to 3' above the ground, usually hard to find. Nest is a round globular ball woven of sedges and grasses, with a small entrance on the side. The inside is lined with fine grass, plant down, animal hair, feathers.
Conservation
Conservation Status
Local numbers vary from year to year; overall population in North America apparently has been declining in recent decades, but reasons are poorly understood.
Climate Threats Facing the Sedge Wren
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.