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Wrentit

Chamaea fasciataOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Wrentit (Timaliidae)

Wrentit Portrait
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General

Wrentit: Small, noisy songbird with dark gray upperparts and thick streaked, reddish-brown underparts. Bill is short and black. Tail is very long and dark. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Wrentit: Resident from the Columbia River on the northern border of Oregon southward along coastal chaparral into Baja California and into the Sierra Nevada foothills of California. Chaparral, shrubs, and brush are preferred habitats.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"pit-pit-pit-tr-r-r-r-r-r-r-r", "peep-peep-peep-pee-pee-peepeepeepeprrr"

Interesting Facts

 The Wrentit was first described in 1845 by William Gambel, an American naturalist and collector.

 It 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.

 Pairs mate for life, and may be together for more than 12 years. Both sexes incubate and sing to defend the territory.

 Their vibrant song is likened to the sound of a "bouncing ball" and is easily heard and recognized. In fact, they are more often heard than seen.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Wrenit
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family Wrentit (Timaliidae)_blue
Species Chamaea fasciata
Length6.5 Inches
Wingspan9.75 Inches

Wrentit

Wrentit: Small, noisy songbird with dark gray-brown upperparts, thick streaked, red-brown to buff-brown underparts. Bill is short and black. Tail is very long and dark. Eyes are creamy white, bill is short and gray. Legs and feet are gray. Northern birds have darker upperparts than southern birds.

● Song: "pit-pit-pit-tr-r-r-r-r-r-r-r", "peep-peep-peep-pee-pee-peepeepeepeprrr"

● Foraging & Feeding: Wrentit: Eats insects, fruits, and spiders. Main diet consists of berries and fruits during winter.

● Breeding & nesting: Wrentit: Three to five pale green blue eggs are laid in a neat cup nest made of bark fiber, held together by cobwebs, and hidden in a low bush. Incubation ranges from 15 to 16 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Wrentit: Bushtit is smaller, has plain, pale gray underparts, and buff to black face patch.

Flight Pattern

Weak fluttering flights of short duration.
Wrentit Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Wrentit: Resident from the Columbia River on the northern border of Oregon southward along coastal chaparral into Baja California and into the Sierra Nevada foothills of California. Chaparral, shrubs, and brush are preferred habitats.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
Population
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight0.5 Ounces