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Also see Nest ID Matrix (contents) and Egg ID Matrix (color, spots, etc.)
To see other cavity nester bios/photos:
![]() A Carolina Wren nest is a bulky, somewhat messy mass of debris like leaves with some coarse hay/grass, twigs, moss, little roots, weed stalks; strips of bark, plastic or even snakeskin; generally domed with tunnel like entrance; and lined with feathers, animal hair, Spanish moss, wool, and fine grasses. Eggs are white/pale pink or rosy tint/light gray (larger than other wren eggs); usually with heavy brown/reddish-brown flecks often concentrated at larger end. Little or no gloss, unlike House Wren. It is not common for them to use a bluebird nestbox, but may nest in a three sided platform box (sometimes sold as “robin box”) |
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![]() (Wilmington, NC. Photos by Bet Zimmerman, May 2007)From Bent: Dr. Witmer Stone (1911) writes: “In a country place near Philadelphia, a pair of Carolina Wrens entered the sitting-room through a window that was left partly open, and built their nest in the back of an upholstered sofa, entering where a hole had been torn in the back. Needless to say, they were not disturbed, and given full possession until the young were safely reared.” Mr. Vaiden tells of a pair of these wrens that raised a brood of young “in the pitcher of a pitcher-pump,” left in the basement of a house. “The parents came through the partly opened basement window and gave little attention to the humans that had to occasionally go into the basement.” |
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![]() Several people report that, unlike bluebirds, Carolina Wrens often do not nest again in the same place even when successful. |
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![]() Notice cellophane in nest. Birds sometimes use this in lieu of snakeskin. The egg in the front looks different for some reason. Unfortunately this nesting failed. Earlier, several eggs were found about 12 feet away on the ground. Jana returned the one uncracked egg to the nest, which still had three eggs inside it. One of the eggs hatched. Several days later, there was only one egg in the nest, no baby, and the nest appeared undisturbed, but was obviously pretty accessible to predators. See Predator and Problem ID and Solutions. |
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![]() These babies are 4 days old. Five out of six eggs hatched. The nest is in Karen’s bathroom. She left the window open one day, and the wren made a nest in a container she uses for hair scrunchies. She decided to leave the window open for a month to accommodate them. The nest was completed in 3 days. The babies hatched 14 days after incubation began. |
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![]() Unfortunately, one of the nestlings was found dead later that morning, perhaps from a crash landing. The parents continued to feed them and two days later were able to fly chest high, but were still in the bathroom. |
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![]() Unlike House Wrens, Carolina Wrens co-exist well with other cavity nesters. |
More Information:
- All About Carolina Wrens (biology)
- Nest and Egg ID
- Nest and Egg ID Photo Album
- Carolina Wren – Bent’s Life Histories
- Relative sizes of eggs
- House Wren deterrence
- House Wrens – another perspective
- House Wren Biology
– Dr. Chapman, Life Histories of Familiar North American Birds