Bewick’s Wren

On 25 April 2019, Erika and I banded a Bewick’s Wren. This species has mysteriously disappeared from its eastern North American range—it used to be found in the Appalachians and in the MIdwest. This wren is still common enough in parts of the West, although its numbers are declining. A few hypotheses are on the table for what caused the drop in numbers—the most likely may be that the Bewick’s Wren has suffered from competition with nest-destroying House Wrens (Kennedy and White 2013). In any case, Audubon first scientifically described this species in 1821, naming it for a British engraver, Thomas Bewick. “Bewick” os pronounced like the car of the same name.