General

Canyon Wren: Medium-sized wren with rust-brown upperparts, fine white spots on gray-brown back, nape, and crown, white throat and breast, and chestnut belly. Tail is long and brown with thin black bars. Head has a flattened appearance; bill is long, slender, and slightly decurved. Sexes are similar, although female may be smaller. Juvenile resembles adult, but with more textured and less spotted upperparts.

Range and Habitat

Canyon Wren: Resident from extreme southern British Columbia southward through Pacific and Rocky Mountain states to Baja California and much of the Mexican interior, eastward to southwestern South Dakota and central Texas. Preferred habitats include cliffs, canyons, rocky outcrops, and boulder piles.

Breeding and Nesting

Canyon Wren: Four to seven white eggs with red brown flecks are laid in a nest made of sticks, lined with hair, feathers, cocoons, and fine material, and built in a tree cavity, bird box, or abandoned nest. Incubation ranges from 13 to 15 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Canyon Wren: Eats insects and spiders; forages by hopping around on rock canyon walls, talus piles, or through dense undergrowth and thickets.

Vocalization

Canyon Wren: Song is descending, gushing, liquid rain of notes, "peup, peup, peup tew tew tew tew tew" ending with a buzzing "mew." Call is an abrasive nasal "jeet."

Similar Species

Canyon Wren: Rock Wren has a shorter bill, pale underparts, a faintly streaked breast, gray-brown upperparts, and a different voice.