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Rock Wren

Salpinctes obsoletusOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Wrens (Troglodytidae)
Codes: Common Name: ROWR Scientific Name: SALOBS ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178614
Least Concern
 
Rock Wren Breeding Male
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Overview

Rock Wren: Medium wren with white-speckled gray upperparts, brown rump, white-over-black eye-lines, white throat and breast with fine gray streaks, and buff-yellow flanks and belly. The long tail is buff-and-black barred, and has a pale tip; undertail coverts are white with black bars.

Range and Habitat

Rock Wren: Breeds from southern British Columbia to southern Saskatchewan, southward to California and Texas, and south to Central America. Spends winters in southern U.S. and southward. Frequents arid or semiarid areas with exposed rock; also alpine habitats.

Topo Map: Perching-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"keree-keree-keree, chair, chair, chair, deedle, deedle, deedle, tur, tur, tur, keree", "tic-keer"

Interesting Facts

 The male Rock Wren is a truly remarkable singer and can have a large song repertoire of 100 or more song types, many of which seem to be learned from neighbors.

 It usually builds a walkway of small pebbles that leads to the nest cavity. The function of this pavement is unknown.

 It is not known to drink water, but instead gets all it needs from its food.

 A group of wrens has many collective nouns, including a "chime", "flight", "flock", and "herd" of wrens.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Samira Belous

Splitbar
Range Map for Rock Wren

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Family Wren (Troglodytidae)_blue
Species Salpinctes obsoletus
Length5 - 6 Inches
Wingspan9 Inches

Rock Wren

Rock Wren: Medium wren with white-speckled gray upperparts, brown rump, white-over-black eye-lines, white throat and breast with fine gray streaks, and buff-yellow flanks and belly. The long tail is buff-and-black barred, and has a pale tip; undertail coverts are white with black bars.

● Song: "keree-keree-keree, chair, chair, chair, deedle, deedle, deedle, tur, tur, tur, keree", "tic-keer"

● Foraging & Feeding: Rock Wren Breeding Male: Eats insects and spiders; forages for food around and between rocks.

● Breeding & nesting: Rock Wren: Four to ten white eggs flecked with red brown are laid in a nest made of sticks, leaves, moss, and finer materials, lined with feathers and fur, and hidden in a cavity or crevice, sometimes in a building. Incubation ranges from 12 to 18 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Rock Wren: Canyon Wren is much darker, with white throat, rufous-and-black tail, and different voice.

Flight Pattern

Weak fluttering direct flights, often short, on shallowly beating wings.
Rock Wren Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Rock Wren: Breeds from southern British Columbia to southern Saskatchewan, southward to California and Texas, and south to Central America. Spends winters in southern U.S. and southward. Frequents arid or semiarid areas with exposed rock; also alpine habitats.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationFairly common
MigrationMigratory
Weight0.6 Ounces
Perching-like BodyX
Undertail covertsX
Small feathers that cover the areas where the retrices (tail feathers) attach to the rump.
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
BellyX
The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.
BreastX
The upper front part of a bird.
RumpX
The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX