Bird's-Eye View: Wrens have beautiful song, cover wide range

You might think that a bird that cheerfully sings all year across most of the state and is named the Carolina Wren would be our official North Carolina bird. Nothing against the beautiful Northern Cardinal, but this enthusiastic and playful bird seems to me a more appropriate choice. Yet, the redbird won a popular vote back in 1943. The wren waited five more years to be recognized by our neighbors in South Carolina.

For such a small bird, the Carolina Wren certainly makes itself heard. Regardless of the season, you can hear its loud and repetitious three-syllable song described variously as "come-to-me, come-to-me, come-to-me," "tea-kettle, tea-kettle, tea-kettle" or, as we tell the fast-food generation, "cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger." Perched on a low branch, it throws its whole body into every note. Only males sing, but listen closely and you will often hear the females give a chattering response.

The Carolina Wren is one of the largest of the wren family. It is abundant throughout the southern United States, and with warmer winters has expanded its range northward. Males and females look alike, with a rich brown back and tail, buffy underparts and a prominent white eye stripe. It often holds its tail upward.

Location, location

Carolina Wrens thrive in varied habitat that includes swamps, forests and suburban yards, but usually stick close to dense shrubs, tangles and brush piles. Their thin, down-curved bills are ideally suited for probing these areas and tree bark for insects and spiders. They also eat fruits and berries and do visit seed feeders, especially in winter when other food sources are scarce.

Readers often report finding nests in flower pots, mailboxes, etc. Like robins and doves, these wrens do not seem fussy about location. If your flower-pot nest has three to seven small eggs that are white with brown spots, the Carolina Wren is your culprit. The nest can be made from anything that is handy -- leaves, bark, string -- and often is dome-shaped with a side entrance. Be patient, the eggs will hatch and the young will fledge in less than 30 days. Mates stay together for life and remain in the same territory all year.

The House Wren is a common summer resident in area backyards. The species owes its name to its attra ction to man-made bird houses, but it also nests in natural cavities. House Wrens are slightly smaller than their Carolina cousins, are not as rufous in coloring and have a far less distinct eye stripe. A warbling song goes up at the start, then down.

When males arrive in early to mid-April, they take over all boxes in an area and often destroy eggs of other birds that already are using a box. They build a stick nest, often more than one, and start singing to attract potential mates. The female inspects their handiwork, selects a nest and then adds improvements. Unlike Carolina Wrens, House Wrens may have more than one mate during a single season. Most House Wrens leave our area by September, but their winter range extends into North Carolina and later sightings are possible.

In spring and summer, the beautiful song of the Winter Wren fills the air at Grandfather and Roan Mountains. In cold months, the birds move from mountain forests down to the Piedmont. Only 4 inches long, this wren has a dark brown back and belly, short stubby tail and only an indistinct gray-eye stripe. Unless you look carefully, you are likely to miss them. They tend to be quiet and secretive in winter, as they probe brush piles and the banks of streams or lakes for insects, larvae and spiders. The Salem Lake shoreline is a good place to spot them.

Marsh and Sedge Wrens breed in coastal areas of the state, but they are rarely seen in this area during migration. The Bewick Wren (pronounced Buick) shares the Carolina Wren's white-eye stripe, but it is a duller brown with a whiter belly and distinctive tail markings. It used to nest in Forsyth County, but now seems extinct as a breeding species in North Carolina. They likely were forced out by the influx of House Sparrows, European Starlings and Brown-headed Cowbirds.

■ Bird's-Eye View is a joint column by Ron Morris and Phil Dickinson. Today's column was written by Dickinson. Dickinson is a legal writer. He has been an active birder for 15 years, and is a past president of the Audubon Society of Forsyth County and chairs the conservation committee. Morris retired after 24 years as curator at the N.C. Zoo. He has studied birds around the world and is currently the vice president of the Audubon Society of Forsyth County. If you have a birding question or story idea, write to Bird's-Eye View in care of Features, Winston-Salem Journal, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101-3159, or send an e-mail to birding@wsjournal.com. Please type "birds" in the subject line.