Sedge wren in a damp meadow. Photo by May Haga
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In On the Move, our regular migration column, we feature pairs of eBird distribution maps that you can use to compare where interesting birds are at different times of the year. We featured the Sedge Wren, pictured above, in our June 2018 issue.
Sedge Wren
Maps show where to find the sedge wren in June (left) and January.
The sedge wren, the only wren in North America with a combination of head, wing, and tail bars, is known to be largely nomadic, secretive, and difficult to study. During the breeding season, it is perhaps best spotted by its song, a dry, staccato chatter that rises from the sedges, bogs and meadows it inhabits. In June, the sedge wren is found in the Midwest and parts of the Great Plains, but breeding occurs in different parts of the breeding range at different times. The birds first nest primarily in the Midwest and southern Canada, and in late summer they make a second attempt south or northeast of their first location. By January, most of the sedge wrens breeding in the United States and Canada had flown to the southeastern states and northeastern Mexico. Male Wrens are prolific singers and are unique in that they improvise songs typical of their species rather than imitating the songs of other Sedge Wrens.
View eBird’s real-time distribution maps for the sedge wren
eBird is the real-time online checklist maintained by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon. “On the Move” is written by Garrett MacDonald, Chris Wood, Marshall Iliff and Brian Sullivan of eBird. Submit your bird sightings at ebird.org.
A version of this article appeared in “Birding Briefs” in the May/June 2018 issue of BirdWatching.
