38-671: See text Wrens are a family , Troglodytidae , of small brown passerine birds. The family includes 96 species and is divided into 19 genera . All species are restricted to the New World except for the Eurasian wren that is widely distributed in the Old World . In Anglophone regions , the Eurasian wren is commonly known simply as the "wren", as it is the originator of the name. The name wren has been applied to other, unrelated birds, particularly
76-626: A family of mostly Old World passerine birds. They are rather diverse in size and coloration, but are characterised by soft, fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent . The timaliids are one of two unrelated groups of birds known as babblers, the other being the Australasian babblers of the family Pomatostomidae (also known as pseudo-babblers). Morphological diversity
114-1429: A monotypic family. The genus level cladogram of the Troglodytidae shown below is based on a molecular phylogenetic study by Tyler Imfeld and collaborators that was published in 2024. The number of species in each genus is based on the list maintained by Frank Gill , Pamela C. Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC). Salpinctes – rock wren Microcerculus – 4 species Catherpes – canyon wren Hylorchilus – 2 species Campylorhynchus – 15 species Thryothorus – Caroline wren Thryomanes – Bewick's wren Troglodytes ( Nannus ) – troglodytes , pacificus , palustris Cistothorus – 5 species Ferminia – Zapata wren Thryorchilus – timberline wren Troglodytes – 18 - 3 = 15 species Odontorchilus – 2 species Uropsila – white-bellied wren Pheugopedius – 13 species Cinnycerthia – 4 species Cantorchilus – 12 species Henicorhina – 5 species Cyphorhinus – 4 species Thryophilus – 5 species Family Troglodytidae The wren features prominently in culture. The Eurasian wren has been long considered "the king of birds" in Europe. Killing one or harassing its nest
152-457: A consensus over time. The naming of families is codified by various international bodies using the following suffixes: The taxonomic term familia was first used by French botanist Pierre Magnol in his Prodromus historiae generalis plantarum, in quo familiae plantarum per tabulas disponuntur (1689) where he called the seventy-six groups of plants he recognised in his tables families ( familiae ). The concept of rank at that time
190-421: A dozen birds, jointly defending a territory. Many even breed communally, with a dominant pair building a nest, and the remainder helping to defend and rear their young. Young males remain with the group, while females move away to find a new group, and thus avoid inbreeding. They make nests from twigs, and hide them in dense vegetation. The systematics of Old World babblers have long been contested. During much of
228-446: A family, yet in the realm of plants, these classifications often rely on both the vegetative and reproductive characteristics of plant species. Taxonomists frequently hold varying perspectives on these descriptions, leading to a lack of widespread consensus within the scientific community for extended periods. The continual publication of new data and diverse opinions plays a crucial role in facilitating adjustments and ultimately reaching
266-514: A name associated with the fable of the election of the "king of birds". The bird that could fly to the highest altitude would be made king. The eagle outflew all other birds, but he was beaten by a small bird that had hidden in his plumage. This fable was already known to Aristotle ( Historia Animalium 9.11) and Pliny ( Natural History 10.95), and was taken up by medieval authors such as Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg , but it most likely originally concerned kinglets ( Regulus , such as
304-501: A noisy wren when he was trying to hide from enemies in a bush. The Carolina wren ( Thryothorus ludovicianus ) has been the state bird of South Carolina since 1948, and features on the back of its state quarter . The British farthing featured a wren on the reverse side from 1937 until its demonetisation in 1960. The Cactus wren ( Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus ) was designated the state bird of Arizona in 1931. The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) were nicknamed Wrens based on
342-494: A pair. The songs of members of the genera Cyphorhinus and Microcerculus have been considered especially pleasant to the human ear, leading to common names such as song wren , musician wren , flutist wren , and southern nightingale-wren . Wrens are principally a New World family, distributed from Alaska and Canada to southern Argentina , with the greatest species richness in the Neotropics . As suggested by its name,
380-579: A species of wren, with only the southern house wren in the Lesser Antilles , the Cozumel wren of Cozumel Island , and the highly restricted Zapata wren in a single swamp in Cuba . The various species occur in a wide range of habitats, ranging from dry, sparsely wooded country to rainforests. Most species are mainly found at low levels, but members of the genus Campylorhynchus are frequently found higher, and
418-541: Is cognate to Old High German : wrendo , wrendilo , and Icelandic : rindill (the latter two including an additional diminutive -ilan suffix). The Icelandic name is attested in Old Icelandic ( Eddaic ) as rindilþvari . This points to a Common Germanic name wrandjan- , but the further etymology of the name is unknown. The wren was also known as the kuningilin ('kinglet') in Old High German ,
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#1732852080107456-460: Is also ascribed to other families of passerine birds throughout the world. In Europe, kinglets are commonly known as "wrens", with the common firecrest and goldcrest known as the "fire-crested wren" and "golden-crested wren", respectively. The 27 Australasian "wren" species in the family Maluridae are unrelated, as are the New Zealand wrens in the family Acanthisittidae, the antbirds in
494-618: Is apparently to eliminate potential food competitors rather than to feed on the eggs or nestlings. Several species of Neotropical wrens sometimes participate in mixed-species flocks or follow army ants , and the Eurasian wren may follow badgers to catch prey items disturbed by them. Tichodromidae : wallcreeper – 1 species Sittidae : nuthatches – 29 species Salpornithidae : spotted creepers – 2 species Certhiidae : treecreepers – 9 species Polioptilidae : gnatcatchers – 22 species Troglodytidae : wrens – 96 species Revised following Martínez Gómez et al. (2005) and Mann et al. (2006),
532-400: Is associated with bad luck, such as broken bones, lightning strikes on homes, or injury to cattle. Wren Day , celebrated in parts of Ireland on St. Stephen's Day (26 December), features a fake wren being paraded around town on a decorative pole; up to the 20th century, real birds were hunted for this purpose. A possible origin for the tradition is revenge for the betrayal of Saint Stephen by
570-454: Is considered an Old World babbler). The most obviously misplaced taxa were removed piecemeal towards the end of the last century. Since then, with the aid of DNA sequence data, it has been confirmed that even the remaining group is not monophyletic . Analysis of mtDNA cytochrome b and 12S / 16S rRNA data (Cibois 2003a) spread the Timaliidae that were studied across what essentially
608-483: Is known about the feeding habits of many of the Neotropical species, wrens are considered primarily insectivorous , eating insects, spiders, and other small arthropods . Many species also take vegetable matter such as seeds and berries, and some (primarily the larger species) take small frogs and lizards. The Eurasian wren has been recorded wading into shallow water to catch small fish and tadpoles; Sumichrast's wren and
646-528: Is rather high; most species resemble " warblers ", jays or thrushes . This group is among those Old World bird families with the highest number of species still being discovered . Timaliids are small to medium birds. They have strong legs, and many are quite terrestrial. They typically have generalised bills, similar to those of a thrush or warbler , except for the scimitar babblers which, as their name implies, have strongly decurved bills. Most have predominantly brown plumage, with minimal difference between
684-491: The Genera Plantarum of George Bentham and Joseph Dalton Hooker this word ordo was used for what now is given the rank of family. Families serve as valuable units for evolutionary, paleontological, and genetic studies due to their relatively greater stability compared to lower taxonomic levels like genera and species. Old World babbler See article text The Old World babblers or Timaliidae , are
722-705: The Eurasian wren is the only species of wren found outside the Americas, as restricted to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa (it was formerly considered conspecific with the winter wren and Pacific wren of North America). The insular species include the Clarión wren and Socorro wren from the Revillagigedo Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and Cobb's wren in the Falkland Islands , but few Caribbean islands have
760-520: The Zapata wren take snails; and the giant wren and marsh wren have been recorded attacking and eating bird eggs (in the latter species, even eggs of conspecifics). A local Spanish name for the giant wren and bicolored wren is chupahuevo ('egg-sucker'), but whether the latter actually eats eggs is unclear. The plain wren and northern house wren sometimes destroy bird eggs, and the rufous-and-white wren has been recorded killing nestlings, but this
798-548: The giant wren , which averages about 22 cm (8.7 in) and weighs almost 50 g (1.8 oz). The dominating colors of their plumage are generally drab, composed of gray, brown, black, and white, and most species show some barring, especially on the tail or wings. No sexual dimorphism is seen in the plumage of wrens, and little difference exists between young birds and adults. All have fairly long, straight to marginally decurved (downward-curving) bills. Wrens have loud and often complex songs, sometimes given in duet by
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#1732852080107836-488: The goldcrest ) and was apparently motivated by the yellow "crown" sported by these birds (a point noted already by Ludwig Uhland ). The confusion stemmed in part from the similarity and consequent interchangeability of the Ancient Greek words for the wren ( βασιλεύς basileus , 'king') and the crest ( βασιλίσκος basiliskos , 'kinglet'), and the legend's reference to the "smallest of birds" becoming king likely led
874-464: The 20th century, the family was used as a " wastebin taxon " for numerous hard-to-place Old World songbirds (such as Picathartidae and Pnoepygidae , as well as the New World species the wrentit ). The German ornithologist Ernst Hartert summarized this attitude with the statement that, in the passerines: " Was man nicht unterbringen kann, sieht man als Timalien an. " (What one can't place systematically
912-844: The New Zealand wrens ( Acanthisittidae ) and the Australian wrens ( Maluridae ). Most wrens are visually inconspicuous though they have loud and often complex songs. Exceptions include the relatively large members of the genus Campylorhynchus , which can be quite bold in their behaviour. Wrens have short wings that are barred in most species, and they often hold their tails upright. Wrens are primarily insectivorous , eating insects, spiders and other small invertebrates , but many species also eat vegetable matter and some eat small frogs and lizards. The English name "wren" derives from Middle English : wrenne and Old English : wrænna , attested (as wernnaa ) very early, in an eighth-century gloss . It
950-667: The acronym WRNS. After the Women's Royal Navy Service was integrated into the Royal Navy in 1993, the title of Wren was dropped from official usage, however unofficially female sailors are still referred to as Wrens. Family (biology) Family ( Latin : familia , pl. : familiae ) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy . It is classified between order and genus . A family may be divided into subfamilies , which are intermediate ranks between
988-506: The book's morphological section, where he delved into discussions regarding the vegetative and generative aspects of plants. Subsequently, in French botanical publications, from Michel Adanson 's Familles naturelles des plantes (1763) and until the end of the 19th century, the word famille was used as a French equivalent of the Latin ordo (or ordo naturalis ). In zoology ,
1026-474: The family Thamnophilidae, and the Old World babblers of the family Timaliidae. Wrens are medium-small to very small birds. The Eurasian wren is among the smallest birds in its range, while the smaller species from the Americas are among the smallest passerines in that part of the world. They range in size from the white-bellied wren , which averages under 10 cm (3.9 in) and 9 g (0.32 oz), to
1064-530: The family as a rank intermediate between order and genus was introduced by Pierre André Latreille in his Précis des caractères génériques des insectes, disposés dans un ordre naturel (1796). He used families (some of them were not named) in some but not in all his orders of "insects" (which then included all arthropods ). In nineteenth-century works such as the Prodromus of Augustin Pyramus de Candolle and
1102-444: The genus Microcerculus to the highly conspicuous genus Campylorhynchus , the members of which frequently sing from exposed perches. The family as a whole exhibits a great deal of variation in their behavior. Temperate species generally occur in pairs, but some tropical species may occur in parties of up to 20 birds. Wrens build dome-shaped nests, and may be either monogamous or polygamous , depending on species. Though little
1140-491: The ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae , but that family is commonly referred to as the "walnut family". The delineation of what constitutes a family— or whether a described family should be acknowledged— is established and decided upon by active taxonomists . There are not strict regulations for outlining or acknowledging
1178-616: The relationships between the genera. These were determined in the same study by Cai and collaborators. Timalia – chestnut-capped babbler Dumetia – babblers (2 species) Mixornis – tit-babblers (5 species) Macronus – tit-babblers (2 species) Cyanoderma – babblers (8 species) Spelaeornis – wren-babblers (8 species) Melanocichla – laughingthrushes (2 species) Pomatorhinus – scimitar babblers (10 species) Erythrogenys – scimitar babblers (6 species) Stachyris – babblers (13 species) The family as currently constituted includes 58 species divided into
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1216-457: The sexes, but many more brightly coloured species also exist. This group is not strongly migratory , and most species have short rounded wings, and a weak flight. They live in lightly wooded or scrubland environments, ranging from swamp to near-desert. They are primarily insectivorous , although many will also take berries, and the larger species will even eat small lizards and other vertebrates. Typical babblers live in communities of around
1254-456: The taxonomy of some groups is highly complex, and future species-level splits are likely. Additionally, undescribed taxa are known to exist. The black-capped donacobius is an enigmatic species traditionally placed with the wrens more for lack of a more apparent alternative than as a result of thorough study. It was recently determined to be most likely closer to certain warblers , possibly the newly established Megaluridae , and might constitute
1292-458: The title to be transferred to the equally tiny wren. In modern German , the name of the bird is Zaunkönig ('king of the fence (or hedge)') and in Dutch , the name is winterkoning ('king of winter'). The family name Troglodytidae is derived from troglodyte, which means 'cave-dweller'. Wrens get their scientific name from the tendency of some species to forage in dark crevices. The name "wren"
1330-565: The two members of Odontorchilus are restricted to the forest canopy . A few species, notably the Eurasian wren and the house wren, are often associated with humans. Most species are resident, remaining in Central and South America all year round, but the few species found in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere are partially migratory, spending the winter further south. Wrens vary from highly secretive species such as those found in
1368-415: Was a badly resolved polytomy with Old World warblers and white-eyes . As the typical warblers (genus Sylvia ) grouped with some presumed timaliids (such as the fulvettas ), it was suggested that some Sylviidae should be moved to the Timaliidae. The phylogenetic relationships between Timaliidae and other families was determined in a molecular phylogenetic study by Tianlong Cai and collaborators that
1406-480: Was not yet settled, and in the preface to the Prodromus Magnol spoke of uniting his families into larger genera , which is far from how the term is used today. In his work Philosophia Botanica published in 1751, Carl Linnaeus employed the term familia to categorize significant plant groups such as trees , herbs , ferns , palms , and so on. Notably, he restricted the use of this term solely within
1444-480: Was published in 2019. It is shown in the cladogram below: Pycnonotidae – bulbuls (167 species) Sylviidae – sylviid babblers (32 species) Paradoxornithidae – parrotbills and myzornis (38 species) Zosteropidae – white-eyes (152 species) Timaliidae – babblers (58 species) Pellorneidae – ground babblers (68 species) Alcippeidae – Alcippe fulvettas (10 species) Leiothrichidae – laughingthrushes and allies (133 species) The cladogram below shows
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