Winter Wren in Winter

winter wren perched on a branch
Winter wren. Image by M. Maggs.

Appearance: Winter wrens are tiny birds about 3-5″ long, round, with short stubby bills, dark eyes, and a tail that sticks upward. They’re primarily brown with white and dark brown feather edges as well as a white stripe behind either eye. Females look the same.

Winter diet: Berries.

Winter Feeder food: They don’t usually visit feeders.

Winter habitat: While a few winter wrens spend the winter in their small year-round range (New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts) most of them migrate south for winter to US states south and east of Kansas. They prefer deciduous and evergreen forests especially those with snags and dead trees. They prefer to be near streams.

Range Map

Winter wren range map.
Winter wren range map.