Marsh Wren

An eastern bird packs gurgles, musical notes, quick trills, and buzzy turns into one spirited burst.

Breeds across southern Canada and much of the northern and western United States; resident year-round along Pacific Coast, Gulf Coast, and portions of the Southwest and Mexico.

Freshwater and brackish marshes dominated by cattail, bulrush, sedge, and reed; also wet meadows and rice fields.

Migratory in the North—males arrive early spring to claim territories and build multiple nests; breeding May–July; southward migration August–October; winters in southern U.S. and Mexico.

A tiny, energetic wren of marshes, the Marsh Wren scurries through cattails and bulrushes with tail cocked high. Rich chestnut-brown above with bold black-and-white streaking on the back and a crisp white eyebrow, it often remains hidden but its distinctive, buzzy song rings out day and night.