There are, I come to find out, 88 species of wren. That’s certainly enough to defy simple categorical descriptions, and in this they do not disappoint. Consider these facts:
- All 88 species are found in the New World, except for the one that isn’t: the Eurasian wren.
- In the New World, they live in almost every habitat: forests, deserts, and grasslands.
- They mostly eat bugs, spiders, and other small invertebrates, but they’ll also eat seeds, berries, and occasionally small amphibians like frogs or tadpoles.
- They can be quite bold or very secretive in nature.
- While most wrens are non-migratory, some that live in temperate zones do migrate, but not all.
- The Eurasian wren hangs out around people, but other wrens are solitary.
So, to summarize, wrens live here and there, eat this and that and that, are in-your-face unless they’re hiding behind your back, stay put through the seasons unless they don’t, and are extroverted unless they’re introverted. And, oh yes, some non-wren species have been mistakenly identified (and named, of course) as wrens.
