WRENS

Marsh Wren 

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Cistothorus palustris

The Marsh Wren is sometimes called the Long-billed Marsh Wren to distinguish it from the Sedge Wren, also known as the Short-billed Marsh wren. It is a small North American songbird of the wren family.

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 and short wings.

Both adults measure about 3.9 - 5.5 inches in length, with a wingspan of 5.9 inches and weigh about 9 - 14 grams.

CALL: Males and females call to alert each other of danger and to indicate their location. The call is a grating, somewhat buzzy chit. In flight, males and females give a longer series of nasal calls.

SONG: Males sing a rapid series of gurgling and buzzy trills. Though each note may only last for 1–2 seconds, they can carry on for up to 20 minutes, hardly ever repeating the same note.

Males in the eastern United States sing a more liquid and less harsh song than males in the West.

Eastern males begin each song with a nasal buzz, whereas western males begin with a sharp chuck.

Western males also have a more complex set of vocalizations.

Primarily feeds on insects, both terrestrial and aquatic. They will also eat spiders and snails.

SUMMER: A variety of fresh- and brackish-water marshes, usually where dense stands of wetland vegetation (cattails, etc.) are present in shallow water or along the water's edges.

WINTER: Similar habitat, but will also use salt marshes.

Summers throughout much of the northern United States and Canada. 

Winters throughout the southwestern quarter of the United States, along the Pacific Coast, and in the deep southeastern U.S. 

Some populations along the Pacific Coast and in the western U.S. are permanent residents.

The males construct a dome-shaped nest with strips of cattail, sedges, and grasses. It is lined by the female with strips of grass, sedge, cattail down, feathers, and rootlets. The nest is oblong with a small hole at the top and an enclosed cup at the bottom.

The females lay 3 - 10 brown eggs with dark spots and incubates them alone for 12 - 16 days.

SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org
https://www.allaboutbirds.org
https://www.sdakotabirds.com