Troglodyte

Wrens are medium-small to very small birds. The Eurasian wren is among the smallest birds in its range, while the smaller species from the Americas... more

by Michelle Reeve

Title

Troglodyte

Artist

Michelle Reeve

Medium

Painting - Pastel

Description

Wrens are medium-small to very small birds. The Eurasian wren is among the smallest birds in its range, while the smaller species from the Americas are among the smallest passerines in that part of the world. They range in size from the white-bellied wren, which averages under 10 centimetres (3.9 in) and 9 grams (0.32 oz), to the giant wren, which averages about 22 centimetres (8.7 in) and weighs almost 50 grams (1.8 oz). The dominating colors of their plumage are generally drab, composed of gray, brown, black and white, and most species show some barring, especially to tail and/or wings. There is no sexual dimorphism in the plumage of wrens, and little difference between young birds and adults. All have fairly long, straight to marginally decurved bills.

Wrens have loud and often complex songs, sometimes given in duet by a pair. The song of members of the genera Cyphorhinus and Microcerculus have been considered especially pleasant to the human ear, leading to common names such as song wren, musician wren, flutist wren and southern nightingale-wren.

The English name wren derives from Middle English wrenne, Old English wraenna, attested (as werna) very early, in an 8th-century gloss. It is cognate to Old High German wrendo, wrendilo and Icelandic rindill (the latter two including an additional diminutive -ilan suffix). The Icelandic name is attested in Old Icelandic (Eddaic) rindil�vari. This points to a Common Germanic name *wrandjan-, but the further etymology of the name is unknown.

The wren is also known as kuningilin "kinglet" in Old High German, a name associated with the fable of the election of the "king of birds". The bird who could fly to the highest altitude would be made king. The eagle outflew all other birds, but he was beaten by a small bird who had hidden in his plumage. This fable is already known to Aristotle (Historia Animalium 9.11) and Pliny (Naturalis Historia 10.74 ), and was taken up by medieval authors such as Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg, but it concerns Regulus, and is apparently motivated by the yellow "crown" sported by these birds (a point noted already by Ludwig Uhland). In modern German the name is Zaunk�nig, king of the fence (or hedge). In Dutch the name is winterkoninkje (little winter king).

The family name Troglodytidae is derived from troglodyte, which means "cave-dweller", and the wrens get their scientific name from the tendency of some species to forage in dark crevices.

Uploaded

February 16th, 2015