Marsh Wren

Adults have brown upperparts with a light brown belly and flanks and a white throat and breast. The back is black with white stripes. They have a dark cap with a white line over the eyes and a short thin bill. The male's song is a loud gurgle used to declare ownership of territory; western males have a more varied repertoire. This little bird is native to Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Their breeding habitat is marshes with tall vegetation such as cattails across North America. In the western United States, some birds are permanent residents. Other birds migrate to marshes and salt marshes in the southern United States and Mexico. Their non-breeding range is in the southern United States going into Mexico and their breeding range is in the northeastern United States going into Canada. Measurements:

Length: 3.9–5.5 in (9.9–14.0 cm) Weight: 0.3–0.5 oz (8.5–14.2 g) Wingspan: 5.9 inches (15 cm)

The marsh wren prefers areas with vegetation that tends to be uniform in composition, as well as fairly tall.

These birds forage actively in vegetation close to the water, occasionally flying up to catch insects in flight. They mainly eat insects, also spiders and snails. In California, 53 Western Marsh Wren stomachs were examined which showed that the birds consume bugs (29%), caterpillars and chrysalids (17%), beetles (16%), ants and wasps (8%), spiders (5%), carabids and coccinellids (2%), with various other flies, grasshoppers, dragonflies and unidentifiable insect remains making up over 11 percent. Ants and wasps were observed to be mostly eaten in the fall.