Wrentit
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Timalidae
Genus: Chamaea
Species: fasciata
**Wrentit Audio Below**
Description
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Length: 6.5"
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Wing span: 7"
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Weight: 0.49oz (14 grams)
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Small grey brown songbird
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Long tail, white eyes & small bill
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Faint pale eyestripe
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Very shy species most often heard but now seen
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No differences in plumage between males and females
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Juveniles similar to adults
Factoids:
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A common bird of the Pacific Coast chaparral, the Wrentit can be difficult to see as it skulks through the dense scrub. It is the only American representative of the mostly Asian family of babblers (Timaliidae)
- The Wrentit used to be considered the sole member of the family Chamaeidae, but genetic studies show that it is the only American representative of the large Old World family of babblers, Timaliidae
- Wrentit pairs mate for life, and may be together for more than 12 years. Both sexes incubate and sing to defend the territory
- The Wrentit may be the most sedentary bird species in north America, with an average dispersal distance from natal nest to breeding spot of about 400 m (1300 ft)
- Wrentits along the coast and in the more humid areas of the north tend to be darker than individuals living in drier and more interior parts of the range
All photographs and audio clips are ©Jamie Mullin 2006
Sources: Cornell Lab of Ornithology & The Sibley Guide to Birds.
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