Almost all wrens are New World voices in brown feathers
Troglodytidae counts 96 species in 19 genera of small brown passerines. Only the Eurasian wren among them lives outside the Americas. Most look plain yet sing loud, complex songs; Campylorhynchus species can be larger and showier. English wren continues Old English wrænna from an eighth-century gloss.
The wren family, Troglodytidae, takes its name from troglodyte, "cave-dweller," because some species hunt in dark crevices. Of its 96 species in 19 genera, every one lives in the Americas except the Eurasian wren, which ranges over Europe, Asia and northern Africa and is the bird English speakers originally called simply "the wren." The name has since been stuck on unrelated birds, including New Zealand wrens, the 27 Australasian fairy-wrens of Maluridae, and even goldcrests.
The word goes back to Old English wrænna, recorded in an eighth-century gloss, and to a Common Germanic root of unknown origin. Old High German called the bird kuningilin, "kinglet," after the fable of the bird election: whoever flew highest would be king, and a tiny bird hidden in the eagle's feathers won. Aristotle and Pliny knew the tale, but it probably concerned goldcrests and their yellow crowns, and the title slid to the wren partly because the Greek words for the two birds were so alike. German still says Zaunkönig, "hedge king," and Dutch winterkoning.
Wrens run from the white-bellied wren, under 10 cm and 9 g, to the giant wren, about 22 cm and nearly 50 g. Plumage is drab grey, brown, black and white, usually barred, and the sexes look alike; tails are often cocked upright. Most are secretive, but Campylorhynchus species sing boldly from open perches. Their songs are loud and intricate, sometimes duets, and Cyphorhinus and Microcerculus are so tuneful they earned names like musician wren and flutist wren. Nests are domed.
Mainly insect eaters, some also take seeds, frogs or lizards. The Eurasian wren wades after tadpoles and small fish and may trail badgers to snap up disturbed prey, while the giant and marsh wrens raid other birds' eggs; the rufous-and-white wren kills nestlings, seemingly to remove competitors. Richest in the Neotropics, the family reaches islands such as Socorro and the Falklands, and the Zapata wren survives in a single Cuban swamp.
Source: Wren
