Species

Marsh wren

Cistothorus palustris

A small, feisty wren of tall marsh grass that builds many dummy nests and sings through the night.

Photo Cephas (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab)

Nesting

At a glance

Size: About 10 to 14 cm long
Weight: About 9 to 14 g
Habitat: Tall marsh grass, cattails and cordgrass
Diet: Insects and spiders
In Georgia: A common resident of coastal marshes; more in winter
Voice: A rattling, gurgling song
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Rusty brown; bold white eyebrow; black-and-white streaked back; cocked tail
Told apart from: Sedge wren, which has a streaked crown and faint eyebrow
Told apart from: Carolina wren, which lives in woods and yards
Where to look: Salt and freshwater marshes

Behaviour

Male marsh wrens build many dome-shaped nests, some never used, and females choose one. They sing day and night in the breeding season.

Why they matter

Marsh wrens are among the most numerous songbirds in Georgia's salt marshes. Their dummy nests may confuse predators and help attract mates.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A dome of woven grass attached to marsh stems
Eggs — Usually four or five
Incubation — About 12 to 16 days
Chicks — Fed mostly by the female
Flight — At about 12 to 16 days
Lifespan — A few years

Living around people

Marsh development and draining remove their habitat.

Misconceptions

Empty nests in a marsh are abandoned. Many are dummy nests built by male wrens.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Present; northern birds wintering	Present	Singing	Nesting	Nesting	Chicks	Second broods	Present	Present	Migrants arriving	Present	Present

Where it lives

Recorded in 78 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

If you found one

Answer a few questions and you will get a specific answer for what you are looking at.

I found an animal