The Iconic Carolina Wren

Background

Common throughout the southeast, but special to one state.

       If you grew up in South Carolina, there's one thing you never failed to hear in the mornings. Perhaps it drove you crazy, or was a comforting component of your childhood soundscape. Regardless of your personal feelings towards the fairly incessant call of the state's official bird, it is undoubtedly an ever-present part of South Carolina's environment. 

       If you are unfamiliar with the Carolina Wren song, think you might know it but are not quite sure, or want to be reminded, you can find examples at Cornell Lab's All About Birds Carolina Wren Sounds.


What is the Carolina Wren up to?

Where does the Carolina Wren go? What are its habits? 

Carolina Wrens are non-migratory birds, and they mate for life, so they are fairly stationary. Their habitat encompasses the entirety of the American southeast and even stretches into South America.        
       They are not deterred by the suburbs or the backwoods! Wherever there is dense enough brush, they will settle. Like many birds, they feed mostly on insects, but also seeds and berries. They will build domed nests out of straw, twigs, and various naturally fibrous materials, either in natural or manmade cavities.
      Only males sing the classic, rapid, multi-note melody. Like many other male birds, they do so to attract females. However, both males and females can make low whirring or chattering calls. 
     


Why the Carolina Wren?

What's so special about a little brown and white bird?

The Carolina Wren officially replaced the mockingbird in 1948 as the SC state bird, because

"[t]he wren was deemed a better choice since it includes “Carolina” in its name, is a permanent resident in every part of South Carolina, and sings practically year-round."

https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/carolina-wren/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kudzu: The Big Green Monster

Image
A Common Sight What's all that green stuff over there?        It sprawls alongside highways. It carpets entire swaths of forestry. It's everywhere, and it's important enough that in my third-grade South Carolina musical, we sang an entire song about it. It's Kudzu.       What began as a decorative plant native to Asia has ended in the harmful consumption of much of the American Southeast's natural environment: Kudzu is a vine that, "[o] nce established, [...] grows at a rate of one foot per day..." according to The Nature Conservancy . This quality has naturally lent itself to a fast and far spread, depicted in the graphic below, but it begs the question: How exactly did kudzu go from being an exotic porch plant to an invasive species?  https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/forestry-wildlife/the-history-and-use-of-kudzu-in-the-southeastern-united-states/ Kudzu in America How did it get here?        The Forestry and Wildlife section...
Read more

A Cooky Coastal Creature

Image
 The Lettered Olive It's hard to see, but it's there.        The Lettered Olive, or Oliva sayana ,  is a predatory snail (the picture you see on the left is its shell, the picture you see on the right is the mollusk component with  the shell), and South Carolina's state shell! The Lettered Olive looks like an ancient creature, especially considering that it gets its name from markings that bear similarities to Egyptian hieroglyphics — but it wasn't discovered until 1834 by Dr. Edmund Ravenel, a native Charlestonian. While they are common in SC, they are not just found along one state's coast. Rather, they are native to the entire West Atlantic coast.        The Lettered Olive shell is special to many collectors because of its high luster (which comes from the snail's shell-building tissue), and is a fun find or those who engage in shelling! I grew up with shell display cases around the house (see picture below), because my mother w...
Read more