There are eighty-eight species of wren; this cute little sedge wren - a tiny little ball of alertness - is my seventh, along with the Carolina, house, marsh, Bewick’s, rufous-naped, and cactus wrens. Somehow I’ve never managed to record a winter wren, which is relatively common around here, but - surprise - only in the winter months.
Sedge Wren (Cistothorus stellaris) | Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge | Seymour, Indiana
500mm | 1/640th second | f/5.6 | ISO720
All eight-eight species are of the family Troglodytidae, meaning “cave-dweller,” from the fact that some species of wrens tend to forage in dark places. The genus name Cistothorus essentially means “shrub-jumper” which is pretty much what sedge wrens and the closely related marsh wrens do. Interestingly (to me, anyway), sedge wrens and marsh wrens live in the same areas, but don’t compete for territory. The marsh wrens live near the water, whereas sedge wrens live in the drier upper marsh or, like this one, in weedy fields. This little guy and his mates were singing their hearts out, as wrens tend to do. If you live east of the Mississippi, the loudest voice around is often the little Carolina wren singing his “teakettle, teakettle, teakettle!” song. The sedge wren’s song is distinctive, just not quite so loud!
Sedge Wren Singing | Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge | Seymour, Indiana
500mm | 1/1,000th second | f/5.6 | ISO1250