Bewick's Wren Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesBewick's Wren
Medium-sized brown wren with a long tail that is often held up. The bill is long and slightly curved. Note white eyebrow and dark barring on the tail.
© Michael Stubblefield / Macaulay LibraryArizona, February 27, 2020Boisterous and curious medium-sized wren with a bold white eyebrow stripe. Plumage varies regionally from rusty-brown in humid regions to gray in drier regions in the U.S.
© Connor Cochrane / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, December 09, 2020Holds tail up over the back, often flicking it from side to side or fanning it as they skulk through tangles of branches and leaves searching for insects.
© Larry Arbanas / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, May 10, 2005Not all videos have sound
Plumage color varies regionally from rusty in more humid regions to gray in desert regions. Birds from San Francisco Bay south to Monterey, California, have less rusty coloring than birds farther north.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, September 22, 2008Males and females build a cup-shaped nest with grasses, rootlets, and leaves inside a hole in a tree or on a protected ledge.
© Christine Jacobs / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, March 05, 2017© dean anderson / Macaulay LibraryTexas, November 28, 2020
© Aaron Boone / Macaulay LibraryTexas, February 17, 2019
Found in dry brushy areas, chaparral, scrub, thickets, and open woodlands near streams. They are at home in gardens and parks in cities and suburbs. Nests in holes in trees or on protected ledges.
© Lew Johnson / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 20, 2017Similar SpeciesNorthern House Wren
Adult/immature
Northern House Wrens are smaller with shorter tails than Bewick's Wrens. They also lack the Bewick's Wren's white eyebrow stripe.
© Andy Witchger / Macaulay LibraryMinnesota, May 03, 2017Similar SpeciesCarolina Wren
Adult/immature
Carolina Wrens are more reddish-brown above and pale cinnamon below whereas Bewick's Wrens are browner above and grayish below. Their ranges overlap only in a limited part of the central U.S.
© Evan Lipton / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, December 08, 2014Similar SpeciesWrentit
Adult/immature
Wrentits have a longer tail and lack the eyebrow stripe of Bewick's Wrens.
© Bob Friedrichs / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, January 27, 2017Similar SpeciesBushtit
Male (Pacific)
Bushtits share habitat with Bewick’s Wrens but they are smaller and more slender than Bewick's Wrens. These plain gray birds also lack the Bewick's Wren's white eyebrow stripe.
© Caroline Lambert / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, January 28, 2016Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Wrens(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Troglodytidae)
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