Thryothorus ludovicianus

(Carolina Wren)

Conservation Status

Status

This species is in decline in the Northeast and Midwest, and severe winters have caused a decline in the mountainous regions of the Southeast. However, the Carolina Wren is not listed as Threatened or Endangered in any part of its southeastern range.

Taxonomy

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Domain: Eukaryota Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Animalia Linnaeus, 1758 - Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
  - Subkingdom: Bilateria (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - bilaterians
    - Branch: Deuterostomia Grobben, 1908 - Deuterostomes
      - Infrakingdom: Chordonia (Haeckel, 1874) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
        Phylum: Chordata Bateson, 1885 - Chordates
        Subphylum: Vertebrata Cuvier, 1812 - Vertebrates
        Infraphylum: Gnathostomata auct. - Jawed Vertebrates
        Superclass: Tetrapoda Goodrich, 1930 - Tetrapods
        Series: Amniota
        Class: Aves Linnaeus, 1758 - Birds
        Subclass: Neornithes Gadow, 1893
        Infraclass: Neoaves
        Superorder: Passerimorphae
        Order: Passeriformes Linnaeus, 1758 - Perching Birds
        Suborder: Passeri
        Superfamily: Sylvioidea
        Family: Certhiidae - Treecreepers
        Subfamily: Troglodytinae
        Genus: Thryothorus (Latham, 1790) - Carolina Wrens
        Specific name: ludovicianus (Latham, 1790)
        Scientific name: Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790)

Notes:

Name Status: Accepted Name. Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001

Physical Description

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Family Certhiidae:

A Family of small passerine woodland birds, consisting of two subfamilies. Typically brown above and white below, they have thin pointed down-curved bills, which they use to extricate insects from bark. Like woodpeckers, they have stiff tail feathers which they use to support themselves vertically trees.

Adult:

Face: Chin: white Eyebrow Line: bold white stripe Bill: Curvature: slightly decurved Length: long Neck: Throat: white Body: Breast: whie near throat, buffy near belly Underparts: rich buffy Upperparts: rusty brown Tail: rusty brown with dark brown bars.

Color:

Rusty-brown color above; paler tan on the belly and undersides; distinct white eyebrow stripe.

Size/Age/Growth:

About 5.5 inches long, with a wingspan of 7.75 to 7.75 inches. Adults weigh about 0.7 ounces.

Images:

Thryothorus ludovicianus Thryothorus ludovicianus ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 67673

Thryothorus ludovicianus Thryothorus ludovicianus Photographer: David Stang Date Taken: February 05, 2007
Location Taken: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Copyright: © 2007 David Stang ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 210612

Distribution

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Range and Population

North America

Habitat

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Habitats of the Carolina Wren include brushy areas usually near deciduous forests, but these birds are highly adaptable, using residential areas with available dense shrubby areas.

Vegetation: tropical deciduous forests, gallery forests, tropical lowland evergreen forest, second-growth forests and woodlands • Minimum Elevation: 0 meters • Maximum Elevation: 2,200 meters • Foraging Strata: Understory/undergrowth • Center of Abundance: Lower tropical: lowlands, lower than 500 m.; tropics. • Relative Abundance in Tropical America: Common • Sensitivity to Disturbance: Low.

Diet

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The Carolina Wren forages near the ground, searches for insects and insect larvae from the branches and leaves of shrubs, and will also eat seeds from the ground or vegetation.

Reproduction

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Breeding season begins in early March, peaks from late April to mid-May, and extends to mid-July. The Carolina Wren nests in a variety of places including old woodpecker cavities, within upturned roots of a tree, at the base of trees, in nest boxes, in hanging plants, and even in a coat pocket or a kitchen pot if access is available. The nest is built of twigs, bark strips, and leaves, and lined with finer material. Four to eight (usually 5) eggs, which are whitish or pinkish in color and flecked with browns and purples, are laid and incubated by the female for 12-14 days. The altricial young hatch and leave the nest after 12-14 days.

Breeding Habitat: Successional-scrub
Nest Location: Ground-low nesting
Clutch Size: 4-8
Length of Incubation: 12-14 days
Days to Fledge: 12-14
Number of Broods: 2 in north, often 3 in south

Migration

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Nonmigratory

Song/Voice

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The song of this bird is a loud, variable tea kettle, tea kettle, tea kettle.

Thryothorus ludovicianus
Recordist: Tony Phillips Date Recorded: May 01, 1996 Location of Recording: Long Island

Song
Recordist: Tony Phillips Date Recorded: September 01, 1999 Location of Recording: Long Island

Scolding at Jay
Recordist: Tony Phillips Date Recorded: September 01, 1999 Location of Recording: Long Island

Song & Hiss (2 birds)
Recordist: Tony Phillips Date Recorded: September 01, 1999 Location of Recording: Long Island

Thryothorus ludovicianus
Recordist: John R. Sauer Copyright Holder: John R. Sauer Permissions for Use: See here.

Similar Species

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Bewick's Wren, Marsh Wren

Members of the genus Thryothorus:

More Info

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Notes

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Contributors:

Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed April 15, 2006. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 6 providers.
Hines, J. E., Gregory Gough, J. R. Sauer, et al. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
NatureServe. 2003. Downloadable animal data sets. NatureServe Central Databases. Accessed February 6, 2005.
Parker III, T.A., D.F. Stotz, and J.W. Fitzpatrick, and quot;Ecological and Distributional Databases for Neotropical Birds, and quot; in Neotropical Birds: Ecology and Conservation, by D.F. Stotz, T.A. Parker III, J.W. Fitzpatrick, and D.K. Moskovits (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). ISBN 0-226-64676-9.
Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2005. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2004. Version 2005.2. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
Sauer, J. R., S. Schwartz, and B. Hoover. 1996. The Christmas Bird Count Home Page. Version 95.1. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
The Georgia Museum of Natural History and Georgia Department of Natural Resources

Identifiers:

Integrated Taxonomic Information System Serial Number: 178581
Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 240051
Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABPBG06130
Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 230

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Last Revised: February 18, 2008