Carolina Wren Similar Species Comparison

Main SpeciesCarolina Wren

Adult

Reddish-brown upperparts contrast with buffy underparts and white throat and eyebrow. Wings and tail have bold darker barring, and bill is long and thin.

Adult

Both males and females are a bright, unpatterned reddish-brown above and warm buffy-orange below, with a long white eyebrow stripe, dark bill, and white chin and throat.

Male

A small but chunky bird with a round body and a long tail that it often cocks upward. Both males and females are a bright, unpatterned reddish-brown above and warm buffy-orange below, with a long white eyebrow stripe. Only males sing.

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Adult

The loud, cheerful song is often heard before the bird is seen.

Adult

Often found in brushy thickets in wooded residential areas.

Male

Males sing a series of several quick, whistled notes, repeated a few times. The notes usually sound three-parted, as in "tea-kettle-tea-kettle" or "germany-germany."

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Adult

Sensitive to cold weather, with northern populations decreasing markedly after severe winters. Gradually increasing winter temperatures over the last century may have been responsible for the northward range expansion seen in the mid-1900s.

Adult

Individuals often perch bent over, holding their tails cocked.

Adult

Forages fairly low in thick tangles of shrubs and vines; also on the ground.

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Adult

Visits feeders, especially during the colder months.

Adult (White-browed)

Individuals from southern Mexico and Central America are dingy white below with cold brown upperparts.

Adult

Note long, curved bill, strong white eyebrow stripe, and rich cinnamon underparts. Often holds tail cocked upward.

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Adult (White-browed)

The "White-browed" group, found from the Yucatan Peninsula to northern Nicaragua, is sometimes treated as a separate species.

Adult

Found in dense woodlands and shrubby habitats.

Similar SpeciesNorthern House Wren

Adult/immature

Northern House Wrens are smaller, darker brown, and shorter tailed than Carolina Wrens. They also lack the white chest and eyebrow stripe of Carolina Wrens.

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Similar SpeciesBewick's Wren

Adult/immature

Bewick’s Wrens are a grayer, longer-tailed western counterpart of the Carolina Wren. Where they overlap in the central U.S., look for the more subdued coloration of Bewick’s Wren compared with the warm buffy or reddish-brown of the Carolina Wren.

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