Listen to the Bewick's wren
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the Bewick's wren
The Bewick's wren is a bird in the family Troglodytidae (order Passeriformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”.
What does the Bewick's wren sound like?
Birds produce sound with the syrinx, a vocal organ deep in the chest that can make two independent sounds at once. Songs tend to be long and patterned and are used to hold territory and attract a mate; calls are short signals for contact, alarm and flight.
The recordings here are labelled as song, call and alarm call. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
Bewick's wren (Thryomanes bewickii) is a wren native to North America. It is the only species placed in the genus Thryomanes. At about 14 cm (5.5 in) long, it is grey-brown above, white below, with a long white eyebrow. While similar in appearance to the Carolina wren, it has a long tail that is tipped in white. The song is loud and melodious, much like the song of other wrens. It lives in thickets, brush piles and hedgerows, open woodlands and scrubby areas, often near streams. It eats insects and spiders, which it gleans from vegetation or finds on the ground.
Its historic range was from southern British Columbia, Nebraska, southern Ontario, and southwestern Pennsylvania, Maryland, south to Mexico, Arkansas and the northern Gulf States. However, it is now extremely rare east of the Mississippi River.
More from the family Troglodytidae
Eurasian wren
Troglodytes troglodytes
Northern house wren
Troglodytes aedon
Marsh wren
Cistothorus palustris
Rock wren
Salpinctes obsoletus
Carolina wren
Thryothorus ludovicianus
Musician wren
Cyphorhinus arada
Grey-mantled wren
Odontorchilus branickii
Band-backed wren
Campylorhynchus zonatus
Southern nightingale-wren
Microcerculus marginatus
Buff-breasted wren
Cantorchilus leucotis
Song wren
Cyphorhinus phaeocephalus
Wing-banded wren
Microcerculus bambla
Frequently asked questions
What does a Bewick's wren sound like?
You can hear 6 recordings of the Bewick's wren on this page, including its song, call and alarm call. Birds produce sound with the syrinx, a vocal organ deep in the chest that can make two independent sounds at once.
Is the Bewick's wren endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Bewick's wren as “least concern”.
What family does the Bewick's wren belong to?
The Bewick's wren (Thryomanes bewickii) belongs to the family Troglodytidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources & credits
- Song · McClellan Ranch Preserve, Santa Clara, California, United… by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Linda Vista Park, Santa Clara, California, United States by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call · San Francisco Peninsula (near San Francisco), San… by radrat – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call · Picchetti Ranch Open Space Preserve, Santa Clara… by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Alarm call · McClellan Ranch Preserve, Santa Clara, California, United… by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · San Francisco Peninsula (near San Mateo), San Mateo… by J. R. – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q997457 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Bewick's wren – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Becky Matsubara from El Sobrante, California – CC BY 2.0