Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)
The Wren is the shortest of all UK garden birds. Although not the smallest, an accolade left to the Goldcrest, which weighs in at just six grams, about the weight of a two pence coin, the Wren certainly punches far above its competitors when sound-to-size ratio is factored in. It’s no understatement to say the Wren is a vociferous little fellow.
The Wren is almost entirely brown, with dashes and lighter shades of brown and cream. Being quite a compact bird, its dumpiness makes it appear very short, yet its legs and claws jut out prominently. All of this is complemented by the bird’s most memorable feature: the vertical, jagged tail which quivers as the bird sings out loud. If you notice one in your garden, make note of its particular movement; it is expert at hopping and dashing swiftly along the ground.
Over particularly harsh winters, Wren populations can deplete significantly by up to as much as 25%. Despite this startling statistic, this is often countered by the large broods created throughout the breeding season. Typically, a female Wren will lay between five and eight eggs, and it’s often quite common for second broods to be raised. Populations of Wrens, therefore, can be replaced quite quickly, a mechanism that has arguably developed over evolutionary time to cope with moments of rapid population loss.

A Wren weighs about the same as a two pence coin
Taxonomy
The term Troglodytes, which is the taxonomic rank used for the Eurasian Wren, among others, such as the House wren, Pacific wren and Winter wren, means “cave dweller”. This Greek derivation, which can be broken down into two chunks (“trogle”, a hole, and “dyein” to creep) refers to the Wrens habit of moving in and out of cracks and crevices to gather arthropods or for roosting.
Habits & behaviour
Compared to its slight appearance, the Wren boasts an incredibly loud voice. According to Wikipedia, it is ten times louder, weight for weight, than a cockerel. Listen and notice the “churring” sound, which is similar in sound to the winding down of a clock. Despite this mechanical reference, the Wren’s beautiful, complex and melodious song is to be admired for its rich continuous trills, ascending notes and clear timbres. You might notice a male Wren perched high, exposed to the elements, with quivering body as it expresses boldly its characteristic tune. The male, in particular, has a lengthy and considerably complex series of trills, which last for seconds at a time. It’s almost unmatched among most garden birds.

White, speckled Wren eggs in a nest
A Wren brood will contain between five and eight small speckled eggs, which are laid in late April. Often second broods are raised. The normal incubation period is anywhere between 13 – 18 days, with a fledge time of 15 – 20 days.
Interestingly, Wrens are highly polygamous; a male can have more than a single female with an active nest at any one time in his territory. In fact, there was one recorded instance of a male Wren that had partnered with four females in a single territory.
Fact: The wren’s diet is comprised mainly of spiders and insects
The Wren in human culture
The legendary Greek writer of famous fables, Aesop, once wrote of the Wren as King of the Birds: there is a famous fable in which the Wren was pitted against the eagle to see which bird could soar to the highest height. The Wren rested on the the eagle’s back, and when the eagle tired, the Wren flew out higher while the eagle plummeted to the ground. Thus, proving that cleverness is better than sheer strength alone.
Yet apart from this little Greek cultural ditty, the Wren has ingrained itself deeply in Western culture. It can be found referenced in Christian, Celtic, Norse and Druidical stories, and is abundant throughout the rest of the world, consistently earning the title King wherever it is found. In Japan, the Wren is known as “King of the Winds”, in Germany the term Zaunkönig means “King of the Fence”, and in Dutch, the Wren is known as “winterkoning”, or “winter king”. Being of considerable sacred status in Druidical culture, the Wren was called King of all the Birds; its musical notes influencing the Druid’s ritual divination.
St Stephen
In Ireland today there is a tradition that dates back to far before the beginning of the 20th century. It is called Wren Day and was supposedly started when St Stephen was betrayed by a chattering Wren as he attempted to hide from his enemies. Ever since, there has been a celebration called Hunting the Wren, whereby young “Wrenboys” would catch a Wren and parade it around town. This is described in the song, which begins:
The Wren, the Wren the king of all birds,
St. Stephenses day, he was caught in the furze.
Although he is little, his honor is great,
Rise up, kind sir, and give us a trate.

Hunt the Wren Day (Lá an Dreoilín) is celebrated in Ireland on 26th December, St Stephen’s Day
Julius Caeasar and the Wren
The famous author of the Twelve Caesars, Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, wrote that the assassination of Julius Caesar was foretold by a Wren. According to Suetonius, “a little bird called the king-bird flew into the Hall of Pompey, with a sprig laurel.” This “king-bird” was a Wren, pursued by a large flock of birds. It entered the Roman Senate with a symbolic wreath in its beak to warn Caesar of his imminent demise. Unfortunately, the bird was torn to pieces before it could tell Julius Caesar.

The death of Julius Caesar
Sitting on my patio with a jasmine officinails behind me not more than 6 ft away a wren built a nest one spring. It didn’t take any notice of my wife or me. But the reason behind that was l had been feeding it live Mealworms for some time. It had associated me with the worm’s and every now and then would create a huge amount of noise, this was when it wanted feeding. And what a noise too. It never used the nest but built another in the conifer hedge of the garden. Then we had a 2 year gap of no wren at all?
I have one that has been in my back garden for 2 years now. Last year he build a
nest in my nest box but never stayed. He was still in the area as I heard him sing
so lovely every day. I wish he would come and stay.
I just smile every time I hear him singing, so powerful.
We always have wrens around the garden, but earlier this year my daughter noticed one fly out of the side of one of our troughs below a front bay window. I saw it several times coming from there and there was a pile of earth on the floor below. The trough was planted so I had to water it, and assumed the bird had given up. But today I was replanting it and the little bird shot out, every time I went away and came back out it shot again, so can only assume there is another batch of eggs. While scraping the old compost away I came across a layer of leaves so quickly covered them up again and continued to plant, I am sure the bird is still there so will take care.
Make sure and clean out the nest box if the nest wasn’t used OR after it is used…..mine is USA sees 2 batches hatched every season if i clean it out
Outside my bedroom window I heard a very loud bird call, as I went outside I kept hearing it, where is this bird, followed the sound, a tiny bird sitting on a branch singing, as days went buy I heard this bird, and one sunny warm day in April I saw this bird, hoping thru the yard, I watched it carefully went on line found it to be a house wren, the pair nested in a flower box that I turned the opening toward the house for the winter, so here I sat nearby saw the pair flying and hopping across the yard to their nest, a delightful sight and sound. so now I hear their different calls and difference their meaning.
My favourite bird . Moss left unattended for this bird , only wish it would spend more time in my garden !
Why don’t you talk about our water birds most people take children to the park but never tell them the names and different species I asked a child what a coot was called he said a chicken, couldn’t name this
Hi Jan,
Good point, and something we have been discussing lately. I do like the idea of providing information for informing and educating children about different species of water birds. Keep posted for more information into less well-known birds across the UK.
Why don’t you talk about our water birds most people take children to the park but never tell them the names and different species I asked a child what a coot was called he said a chicken, couldn’t name a mallard
I would have been good to hear about the roosting habits of these endearing little birds (wrens) I have a small woven bird house situated in the apex of my garden shed and very early one morning i counted 22 adult birds leaving the hole….how they all fitted i just don’t know!
Re Yve Blyth; in hard winters 10+ wrens have been seen huddled together in a half coconut shell to keep warm. I now have one (two?) visiting my garden for the first time in about 10 years, and the bark chippings under the sycamore is the favoured spot:because of the insects there?
Is it a tardis, maybe, Yve?! We have a couple of wrens, can anyone tell me why they build nests and don’t use them?
I think the make builds a few nests and invites the female to choose the one she likes… but he might have other females, and other nests to offer around.
oops … “male” not “make”
Any chance the interactive page could play a recording of the song of these birds. I often see the birds and hear bird song but never at the same time
Thank you for suggestion – I wanted to ask for the same. Hopefully, this site designers will pay attention to our comments and wishes )))
We had a wren made a nest in our hanging basket by our back door. It wasn’t used, just a nest made. I asked a wildlife expert why the wren made a nest but never used it. He explained the male wren makes up to three nests, which he then subsequently presents to his lady wren, then she chooses her favourite nest, which she uses to bring up the young, and the other nests are discarded.
We have a wren that visits the plant pots on the small terrace outside our kitchen door. It arrives most days mid -morning and ignores the fact we are entirely visible 1-2 metres away through a clear glass door. We had planned to spray the plants to kill greenfly as they were struggling. The wren got there before us so we shelved the idea of spraying. After several weeks of almost daily visits from the wren (and at an almost identical time) the plants are now thriving without spraying.
One cold winter evening, I counted 41 wrens leave the small nest box under the open porch when I switched on the outside light. As soon as they realised there was no danger, all 41 flew back into the roost.
We currently have a wren nesting in one of our garden nest boxes 23/7/2017 judgeing by the date it is a second brood, cannot stop watching and listening to her,or is it him or both They don’t bother about us in the garden, but if you loiter to long near the nest box, my goodness do you get told off.
Do they both feed the young
We have a Wren it is nesting in a bird box under my Pergola under the clematis , saw it for a few days darting in and out of the box assumingly feeding, and haven’t seen it since, I don’t know if it has left or will it come back.
I did hear the wren` s song a few times, but nothing and I do miss him/ her :(
We have just arrived home from a few days away and a wren has nested under our barbaque no barbaques for a while but pleased to see it
I have a nest of wrens in a bird house on my patio. Eggs are hatched and mama wren is feeding them relentlessly. I love watching her and hoping to see the babies leave the nest when ready. Tonight the mama is making a big fuss – what does that mean?
I think, Anita, mama wren is kicking kids out of her house … just like we -humans- do, when it’s time for our kids to stand on their own feet… ))))
My Jenny wren has not been seen for a few days and the best birds have stopped chirping…. do I fear the worst? :(
We have had a wren’s nest under our balcony for several years. Sometimes it is not used, last year it was predated by a jay. This year a successful brood has fledged and all seemed quiet, so we began much needed replacement of the balcony decking. As we worked, we have seen a wren going to and from the nest, though it looks like a juvenile. We thought we would be avoiding nesting by mid July. Hopefully we can work carefully around it( it’s tucked into a corner joist up against the house) as the decking must be replaced.
Do you think this is a Wren nest? built inside our woodshop in my Granddaughters ATV helmet. No worries, we will leave them alone until they are hatched and gone ;) In South Carolina. Didnt know it was there until one day the Momma bird flew by me but i didnt get a glance at her.
pretty sure thats a Robins nest
i have an old landrover outside with a tarpaulin over it. went to take the cover off the other day and found a nest on the read bumper with some eggs in and a freshly hatched chick (still wet). It is a wren’s nest
i put the cover back on quickly and now, 2 days later, am relieved to see the parents still going back under the cover to the nest
I have a wren nest in my garage up high on a shelf. It’s May 2, 2020 now and I am in Texas. There are two small chicks out of it and they seem to want to stay inside the garage. I have the door open all day for them to leave, but they won’t. How do I get them to leave, or will they go on their own? They can fly a bit. Should I take the nest down once they go? Thanks!
I have wrens on both sides of my house!! With nests. So happy to hear their song! Makes my heart happy! They are the ” king” for sure!! I’m in N California.
During lockdown we have been lucky enough to watch a pair of Wrens creating a nest in our garden ornament (heron) by the koi pond, and now they are feeding the fledglings. Our only concern is when they leave the nest to fly, we are hoping they don’t go pondside to fly. Wonderful timewasting experience during these unprecedented times. Stay Safe.
I have a nesting wren in a conifer in my garden at the moment. This is the very first time this has happened. I can hear the lovely noise of the chicks and the adults are being very busy tooing and froing from the nest. It’s very warm here (UK) at the minute and I have filled my bird baths with fresh water.
We have a wren’s nest in garden hose holder. Love seeing her feed her chicks juicy caterpillars. My grandchildren are fascinated when they come to visit. Only problem is a buzzard circling but wren’s certainly make a lot of noise to ward it off. Fingers crossed the fledgings make it to safety when they leave the nest! I might need to patrol the garden !!
I have a pair of Jenny wrens nesting in box from tree. She had two eggs so far but yesterday I found both eggs on ground right below perch where male sets and sings. Both broken. Why would this happen?
Probably a Magpie, not my favourite bird.
Please, what is the reply to Donna Smith. Thank you!
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I am so excited about this !!!!!!!!
We have a small nest box close to our patio window and over many years have watched Wrens enter at dusk. But there is a strange behavior where one bird enters the nest for aprox. a min then flies out for a couple of minutes then re-enters followed by a second and who knows more birds as the light disapears.
Would love to know if this has been observed by other Wren watchers.
such a gift ..excited to watch their progress in my porch