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There鈥檚 something special about Minnesota鈥檚 wrens.

In total, we have four species of wrens that make their seasonal homes here. Wren songs, especially that of the male house wren, are beautiful and boisterous. Combined with their boldness, these tiny species of birds are energetic and fearless.

At this writing, outside an open window, the resident male house wren is singing his incessant trill.

Delivered from conspicuous perches, male wrens of all species sing throughout the day, chasing away intruding male wrens and other species of birds, too. So aggressive at times, house wrens, for example, are known to raid the nests of other songbirds within their breeding territories, especially those occupying potential house wren nest sites.

Most wrens are cavity nesters, such as the house wren, as their name implies.

Many bluebird houses placed on a post near a woodlot or orchard don鈥檛 escape the notice of courting male house wrens. Various other objects also serve as nest sites. Old shoes or boots, gourds, open containers and even abandoned hornet nests have all served as a wren鈥檚 home.

Male house wrens arrive in the spring ahead of the females to establish their breeding territories.

A tireless singer, the male house wren sings its combination of trills and rattles with exuberance and conviction. There鈥檚 no mistaking the boundaries of a house wren鈥檚 domain, for he flies from perch to perch singing earnestly throughout the day, into the evening and sometimes occasionally during the night during the breeding season.

Between songs, while busily defending his territory, the male house wren also remains busy building nests.

Some people become astonished by this behavior when they discover their bluebird houses stuffed full of sticks. But that鈥檚 the way of the house wren. All that nest construction is done to impress female wrens. And if he鈥檚 lucky, she will choose one of his numerous false-nests and raise his offspring.

Another two species of Minnesota wrens are the sedge wren and marsh wren. Just as untiring songsters as their upland cousin, both sedge and marsh wrens sing frequently, loudly and vigorously.

Sedge wrens are typically found in grass and sedge meadows that are often ringed with short shrubs. A secretive bird, these wrens are normally not seen unless flushed or observed singing heartily from the end of a stem or blade of grass. His song is described as 鈥渟harp staccato chips鈥� culminating in a rapid series of 鈥渃haps and chats." It鈥檚 distinctive enough that, with only a few encounters and confirmed observations, one can readily identify future meetings by hearing alone.

Like the house wren, several false or 鈥渄ummy鈥� nests are built throughout an individual male bird鈥檚 territory. But unlike the house wren, tiny woven balls of grass with a single opening on their side are constructed about a foot or two above the ground. In the sedge wren鈥檚 case, the cavity is built, not found.

Marsh wrens occupy wetlands as well, though different types of wetlands than what sedge wrens prefer. Aptly named, marsh wrens are found in wetlands dominated by cattails and reeds.

The marsh wren measures five inches in length and is the largest of the four species found in Minnesota. They are usually heard before they are visually observed.

The male marsh wren sings from the confines of tall wetland vegetation, gripping tightly the round stalks of reeds or the green blades of cattails while spewing a very musical and gurgling series of rattles and trills. So lively is the singing male during the breeding season that he rarely stops singing, even at night.

Winter wrens are not as common in Minnesota.

The smallest wren of the nine occupying North America, the winter wren is the only wren of the 59 worldwide species that can be found in both the New World and Old World. The four-inch, dark brown bird with a very short and cocked tail prefers summertime haunts of cool coniferous forests where it nests and hunts for insects.

Wrens are remarkable birds. Similar in appearance and song to one another, yet occupying different habitats where their ranges overlap. Wrens of all species far and wide are fascinating feathered bundles of energy for us to observe and listen to as we get out and enjoy the great outdoors.