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  Profile

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  In flight

Songbirds

Sedge Wren

Cistothorus stellaris

• rare
• 55 km/h
• Least Concern

Nests where most birds drown, in wet meadows nobody mows. Easy to miss, hard to forget.

Population

~5 million mature individuals globally (2011 estimate per BirdLife DataZone; slightly negative population trend per Partners in Flight 2024)

Habitat

Wet fields, shallow upland marshes, and sedge/grass meadows with scattered low shrubs; occupies less densely vegetated wetlands than the closely related Marsh Wren and avoids forest

Fun fact

Male Sedge Wrens build several ball-shaped "dummy" nests within their territory, of which the female lines and completes only one for egg-laying; both sexes will sometimes destroy nearby rival Sedge Wrens' nests by piercing the eggs.

Range

Breeds across the north-central/northeastern United States and south-central/southeastern Canada; winters in the southeastern US, Gulf Coast, and northeastern Mexico; notably nomadic, with breeding sites shifting year to year based on habitat wetness

Diet

Insects and spiders, gleaned on or near the ground and in low marsh/grass vegetation

Size

0.11 m

Wingspan

0.13 m

Lifespan

4 years