Quantcast

Canyon Wren

Catherpes mexicanusOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Wrens (Troglodytidae)

Canyon Wren Breeding Male Portrait
  Copyright 2002-2007 Whatbird.com
Click here for licensing information Splitbar

General

Canyon Wren: Medium-sized wren with rust-brown upperparts, fine white spots on gray-brown back, nape, and crown, white throat and breast, and white-spotted brown belly. Tail is long and brown with thin black bars. Head has a flattened appearance; bill is long, slender, and slightly decurved. Sexes are similar, although female may be smaller. Juvenile resembles adult, but with more textured and less spotted upperparts.

Range and Habitat

Canyon Wren: Resident from southern British Columbia southward through Pacific and Mountain states to Baja California and much of the Mexican interior, eastward to southwestern South Dakota and central Texas. Preferred habitats include cliffs, canyons, rocky outcrops, and boulder piles.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"peup, peup, peup tew tew tew tew tew mew", "jeet"

Interesting Facts

 The Canyon Wren is not known to drink water. It probably gets all the water it needs from its insect prey. It has been seen foraging along the sides of desert springs, but not drinking.

 Its long bill and flat head enable it to reach deep into crevices to find prey.

 A group of wrens has many collective nouns, including a "chime", "flight", "flock", and "herd" of wrens.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Splitbar
Range Map for Canyon Wren
.
Bird database and its related content, illustrations and media is Copyright © 2002 - 2007  Whatbird.com
All rights reserved. No part of this web site may be reproduced without written permission from Mitch Waite Group.
 Privacy Policy.
Percevia® Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
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 Wren (Troglodytidae)_blue
Species Catherpes mexicanus
Length4 - 6 Inches
Wingspan7.5 Inches

Canyon Wren

Canyon Wren: Medium wren with rust-brown upperparts, fine white spots on gray-brown back, nape, and crown, white throat and breast, and white-spotted brown belly. Tail is long and brown with thin black bars. Head has a flattened appearance; bill is long, slender, and slightly decurved.

● Song: "peup, peup, peup tew tew tew tew tew mew", "jeet"

● Foraging & Feeding: Canyon Wren: Eats insects and spiders; forages by hopping around on rock canyon walls, talus piles, or through dense undergrowth and thickets.

● Breeding & nesting: Canyon Wren: Four to seven white eggs with red brown flecks are laid in a nest made of sticks, lined with hair, feathers, cocoons, and fine material, and built in a tree cavity, bird box, or abandoned nest. Incubation ranges from 13 to 15 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Canyon Wren: Rock Wren is much paler, with gray-brown back, streaked breast, and different voice.

Flight Pattern

Weak and fluttering direct flight, often of short duration, on shallowly beating wings.
Canyon Wren Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Canyon Wren: Resident from southern British Columbia southward through Pacific and Mountain states to Baja California and much of the Mexican interior, eastward to southwestern South Dakota and central Texas. Preferred habitats include cliffs, canyons, rocky outcrops, and boulder piles.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
Population
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight0.5 Ounces