Carolina wrens are classified as members of Kingdom Animalia. These birds came under the phylum Chordata and class-specific to them is called Aves. These are members of the family Troglodytidae, order Passeriformes and genus called Thryothorus. Scientific name of Carolina Wren is Thryothorus ludovicianus.
These birds are called southern birds because they love to live in the northern parts of the world due to global warming such as Canada. These birds do not migrate and remain in their natural habitat so they have to withstand the harsh conditions of their surroundings. There are almost 80 species of Wren present in the world and belongs to the family Troglodytidae. This bird is a normal garden visitor in Europe and Asia.
The Characteristics of Carolina Wrens
These birds are terrestrial and spend most of their time on the ground in search of some seeds or prey. They do not fly far away because of their shorter flights. They utilize their beaks and wings to remove dust from their body. Carolina Wren communicates with each other with the help of different vocals and some physical displays including tail fanning and head pointing. Their songs are loud, sharp, and highly pitched and have sounds such as trills, chatters, and clacks. The frequency measured is 1.8 to 4.5 kHz. Their singing habit is more prominent in the late winter or spring season.
They physically bear the colder temperatures but a deficiency in their food supply can be a problem for them. These birds are 5.5 to 6 inches in length. Their upper body parts are brown and their lower parts are buff-tinged. Their eyebrows and chin are white and no streaking is there at their back. Their correct identification point is white line eyebrow and easily differentiated these birds from house Wren. Their nests are cup or dome-shaped and made up of grass, bark, and twigs and surrounded by fine, soft material.
The differential feature of their nest from others is a unique side entrance. The nesting sites are usually in tree cavities, hanging baskets, tank lids, door wreaths, and some dense shrubs and are 1 to 10 feet above the ground. Both the partners participate in building their nests. They mostly form pairs in the winter season usually in the fall. These birds are monogamous. Both male and female lives together as a pair throughout their life and also travels with each other in their area.
The females lay 4 to 8 eggs usually and are creamy, pinkish-white with brown markings on them. After the process of egg-laying, incubation is processed by the females. The incubation period is of 12 to 14 days in length and during this process, males provide females with food. The baby chicks leave their nests after 12 to 14 days of birth. In every season, almost 2 to 2 broods are done. Their breeding season starts in April and ends in July.
The birds living in the south start to build their nests in March. For every brood, the new nest is constructed in the same place where was the previous one. The females prefer to protect their eggs rather than fly when someone approaches their nests. Males and females are almost the same in view but males are slightly heavier than females. Males are having longer wings, bills, and tails. Young birds are almost similar to adults but their plumage is lighter in color. The oldest wren survived for 6 years and one month.
What Do Carolina Wrens Eat? List of Food Items
The diet of Carolina Wren includes spiders, frogs, snakes, lizards, small vertebrates, and some insects. They can also consume vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, corns, and berries. According to research, the diet of these animals consists of 94% animals and 6% plant matter. These percentages can change according to the season and availability of food ingredients.
During the summer season, 1% of plant matter is included in their diet but in the case of the winter season, plant matter percentage rises from 1 to 11%. They are mostly busy searching their food in deep bushes, under some trees, on the ground, and in thorny bushes. They fly from place to place and hunt their food with the help of their bills, from litters and consume different insects and bugs.
Animal sources of diet
- Caterpillars and moths
- Lizards
- Snails
- Snakes
- Beetles such as leaf and cucumber beetles
- Grasshoppers and crickets
- Tree frogs
- Hoppers and bugs
- Bees and wasps
- Spiders
Plant sources of diet
- Sumac seeds
- Weed seeds
- Acorns
- Bayberry seeds
- Poison Ivy seeds
- Fruits and berries
- Different vegetables
Seeds
These birds consume seeds from different weeds and flowers including bayberry, sumac, and poison Ivy seeds and it usually depends on the area of residence and availability of seeds. They consume sunflower seeds and other different mixtures of seeds, especially when other food sources are scarce. Suet contains high content of fats and proteins.
One should observe the feeder keenly to check which type of suet these birds prefer. They sometimes eat dried nuts and some berries depending on the flavors. They eat shelled peanuts too. Peanuts have high protein and fat and are also rich in energy content. These seeds provide almost one-third of the metabolic needs of these birds.
Mealworms
Some people claim that these birds eat mealworms as a passion. Mealworms along with some seeds should be offered to them in a feeder as they are rich in protein, especially in the winter season. If they do not eat fresh mealworms then offer them dried ones dipped in warm water.
Water requirements
As compared to the single water bath, multiple water pens containing water are used to attract these birds. They love to drink and take baths under splashing waters such as fountains. These baths should be shallow to withstand the short legs of wrens. All birds require water for survival and efficient digestion of consumed food, especially in the winter season. Fresh, clean, and hot or cold-water baths should be provided to them depending on the conditions of the environment.
What Do Baby Carolina Wrens Eat?
Both male and female partners share their duties of bringing food in their nests. The diet usually consists of insects, flies, bugs, and some spiders. When they grew up, their parents offer them grasshoppers, caterpillars, and crickets.
When baby chicks leave their nests, they follow their parents for some days to learn some tricks of catching and consuming their prey. After that, they are ready to their efforts to have food for themselves. Feeding them every day is so important.
As a pet, you should dip a toothpick in food that contains high calcium and protein content and serve them for 5 hours from dawn to dusk. For their better digestion, cod liver oil should be blended with their food. After 2 weeks, they can eat their food by themselves.
What Do Carolina Wrens Eat in the Winter Season?
A lot of energy is utilized due to their constant uniform motion and fast metabolic rate. Due to this reason, they require a constant food supply for their proper health and maintenance of their body temperature and to survive in the winter season.
The snow is dispersed usually on the ground in the winter season and they cannot find enough food to eat. In cold weather, some insects and spiders die, vertebrates go to hibernation and vegetation is also scarce.
These all factors contribute to stress and usually, they handle this on their own by surviving on their collected food such as old berries, fruits, and some insects. Old nuts, corns, peanuts, and some seeds are also used. Food is limited during colder periods as compared to summer weather. Their survival rates can be increased by providing them with continuous and reliable food sources.
How to attract Wrens in the backyard
To attract these birds in your background, provide them with the required food, shelter, water, and nesting conditions. If any of these needs are compromised, they do not visit the gardens. If they found enough and quality-based availability of food then they become frequent visitors of the backyard.
If you are willing to attract them, avoid using insecticide sprays and spider webs. The plantation of berry-producing shrubs also provides sources of food to them. Insects including mealworms, snails, and slugs can be attracted to the site if litter material is freely dispersed on the ground.
Dispersed seeds including peanuts, peanuts hearts, corns, and sunflower seeds also provide sources for their regular visit. They usually build their nests in unusual places including shelves, flower pots hanging shrubs. Leaving these places as they are, can also attract these birds. By providing denser shrubs in your backyard, their shelter can be managed.
On small trees and shrubs, they often feel protected. If no plants are available, a pile of bushes can be useful. In the winter season, they usually use roost boxes to protect them from cold. Preferably, a shrubby web should be created in the whole yard for free movements of these birds in the yard without being exposed.
