Jenny Wren—Tiny Bird, Powerful Song

BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN BRITAIN

PRIMROSES studded the bankside as sunlight streamed through the trees, bejeweling the rain-soaked vegetation after the passing shower. I relaxed on a fallen tree, watching two small birds quickly go back and forth to a patch of dead bracken that overhung a rock face above the stream.

Curiosity got the better of me, and I rose to investigate. I found what I had suspected—a wren’s nest, beautifully constructed of woven moss and neatly tucked away among the hanging strands of bracken. The perky wren measures just three and three quarters inches [10 cm] from the tip of its beak to its tail and is commonly viewed as one of Britain’s smallest birds.a For this reason, in 1937 its likeness was first embossed on the farthing, which was Britain’s smallest coin at that time.

Jenny wren, or kitty wren—names given to both sexes by English country folk—is well-known in Europe, Eurasia, and the United States. In Britain it is the most widely distributed and the most numerous of all breeding birds. Its beautiful, trilling song has been likened to that of the nightingale and is so powerful that it can be heard over half a mile away! But harsh winters take their toll and have been known to kill up to 75 percent of the wren population. At such times wrens often choose to roost together to keep warm. Over 60 wrens were once found in a nest box, huddled together in a feathery bundle.

In April the male builds a variety of skillfully camouflaged dome-shaped nests. After completing the nests, the male will introduce his mate to all of them. She will then select one and line it with feathers. By the end of April, she will have laid five or six white eggs with red-brown spots. The female will incubate the eggs on her own for 14 days, and the fledglings will leave the nest after at least two more weeks.

Two broods are normal during the summer, and while the female incubates her second clutch of eggs, the male will take care of the youngsters from the first hatching, sometimes taking the young birds to one of his other nests. If the summer is a good one, with an abundance of insects available as food, the male will take a second mate and set her up in yet another of his homes.

Sitting on the fallen tree, I could feel the warmth of the May sunshine as I watched both wrens flying to and fro. I noted their red-brown plumage and barred wings when they settled on a twig close to where I sat. But then, when they discovered me in their domain, their little tails cocked up, and they started their churring alarm call. That was my cue to quietly take my leave.

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