Rock Wren (Salpinctes obsoletus)
About the Rock Wren
The rock wren (Salpinctes obsoletus) is a small songbird of the wren family native to the rocky areas of western North America. There are 8 subspecies of the rock wren, one of which is extinct. They are similar in size to other wrens, with a grey-brown coat, a brown rump, and a speckled white throat. They are visually similar to the canyon wren, which they share a habitat with. They are noted for their variable song and song pattern, used for territory defense, as well as their habit of building "pavements" with flat rocks around their nest to help nestlings stay dry. Rock wrens are serially monogamous, forming pairs for nesting season. Nestbuilding usually begins in March, usually in crevices, and the first brood are laid late April to June, with a possible second brood later in June.
A real field recording of the Rock Wren. Press play and focus on the rhythm and pitch of each phrase.
Listen
Our streaming copies are mirrored from the original xeno-canto file and transcoded to 96 kbps mono — a modification, so we note it here; the licence for each recording is named in its credit below.
2 recordings on this page · licensed Public Domain / CC0 ×1 · CC BY-SA ×1 · mirrored on this server, free for commercial reuse · recorded in Canada, Honduras, Mexico, United States · xeno-canto lists 177 recordings for this species in total.
Other birds in this region
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescensrecording
- American Barn OwlTyto furcatarecording
- American KestrelFalco sparveriusrecording
- American RedstartSetophaga ruticillarecording
- American Yellow WarblerSetophaga aestivarecording
- Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbularecording
These are the birds recorded alongside it, not close relatives — the site holds no other member of its genus or family yet.