Birds of Central Oklahoma

All birds Wrens

Carolina Wren, adult
Adult Photo by Rhododendrites. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Carolina Wren

Thryothorus ludovicianus

Here all year.

Recorded by Patricia H. CC BY-NC, via iNaturalist, trimmed and volume evened out.

Look for

  1. Warm reddish brown on top, with a cinnamon orange belly.
  2. A bold white stripe over each eye and a long, thin bill.
  3. A short tail that it often holds straight up.

A little about it

Carolina Wrens live here all year. A pair stays together in every season, and they may mate for life.

It has a loud, whistled song. Listen for "tea-kettle, tea-kettle, tea-kettle." It sings all day long, all year. Sometimes the female chatters along while the male sings, like a duet.

Wrens hop through leaves and bushes hunting bugs and spiders. Now and then they catch a small lizard or a tree frog. They even eat poison ivy berries. At feeders, they like suet and even chopped apples.

A wren will nest in almost any hole or nook. It might pick a hollow tree, a nest box, or even a shelf in a garage. The nest is often a ball with a door on the side. The babies leave the nest 12 to 14 days after they hatch.

Fun fact

Carolina Wrens often tuck a piece of old snakeskin into their nests.

When it's here

Taller bars mean more sightings. Most often seen in October.

How big

SparrowRobinCrowGoose

About 5 inches. A little smaller than a sparrow.

Where to look

Thick, tangled bushes and brush piles in woods and yards. Look low, near the ground.

  • Yards and parks
  • In the woods
  • At feeders

People have spotted it at Martin Park Nature Center, Mitch Park, Oklahoma City Zoo area.

Could it be something else?

  • Bewick's Wren

    It has a white eyebrow too, but it's duller brown on top and pale gray below. Its tail is longer, with white spots at the corners.

  • House Wren

    It's plainer gray-brown, with only a faint line over the eye. A Carolina Wren is warmer brown and has a bold white eyebrow.

Where these facts come from