Episode 16: House Wren – Voice of the Wild

House wren (Troglodytes aedon). 

The House wren adds brightness to backyards, woods, and urban forests with its bubbly song that seems to stumble over its own urgency. The house wren can be found in Illinois from spring to fall. A small but bold nester, it takes readily to birdhouses in backyards but will also make do in much smaller and more wild spaces. 

Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. From time to time, we’ll also do a deep dive into wildlife science, news, and natural history. Voice of the Wild is brought to you by the University of Illinois Extension Natural Resources, Environment, and Energy program. 

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The following Cornell Lab | Macaulay Library recordings were used in this episode: 

House Wren song by Wil Hershberger (ML508375) 

House Wren hesitant call by Wil Hershberger (ML508386) 

House Wren scolding call by Kevin J. Colver (ML508387) 

 

Sources and more: 

• https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/House_Wren/overview 
• https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/house-wren 
• Sibley, David. Sibley Birds East: Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America. Second edition. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2016. Print. 
• Peterson, Roger Tory, and Virginia Marie Peterson. A Field Guide to the Birds: A Completely New Guide to All the Birds of Eastern and Central North America. Fourth edition, completely revised and enlarged. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1980. Print. 
• Dobson, Colin et al. Field Guide to Hotspots and Birds in Illinois. Champaign-Urbana: Scissortail LLC, 2023. Print. 
• Godfrey, Michael A, John Farrand, and Roger Tory Peterson. Videoguide to the Birds of North America. New York, N.Y: MasterVision, 1985. Film. 

What is Voice of the Wild?

If you learn to listen for them, you will find wildlife everywhere. Voice of the Wild is a podcast about wildlife and the wild sounds they make. Tune in every Friday to learn a new bird song, frog call, or insect noise.

This is Illinois Extension’s Voice of the Wild. A new wild voice in just a moment, so find someplace quiet, take a deep breath, and enjoy.

While it won’t shy away from a well-built birdhouse, this bird can be pretty creative with its nesting choices; More than once I’ve reached for a map at the head of a seldom used hiking trail and had one burst from the pamphlet box to scold me away from its eggs. When not busy startling hikers, the bird adds brightness to backyards, woods, and urban forests, but only with its jumbled, bubbly song, as Its plumage is a simple, dull brown.

This is the House Wren, Troglodytes aedon from the wren family Troglodytidae. Here’s the house wren again; listen for how the song seems to stumble over its own urgency before stabilizing into more musical notes.

Thank you to the Macaulay library at the Cornell lab for our bird sounds. And thank you for tuning in to learn a new bird call with Illinois Extension.