Hello and welcome. This is the Science of Birds.

I am your host, Ivan Philipson. The Science of Birds podcast is a lighthearted exploration of bird biology for lifelong learners.

Today's episode, which is episode 58, is all about birds in the family troglodytidae.

These are small, perky songbirds, most of which are some shade of

brown. All the species in this family of birds are found in the new world, in North, Central,

and South America. All of them, that is, except for one species found in the old world.

We'll get into all of that in a few minutes.

But first, I want to clarify which W-R-Ns we're talking about.

You see, the word W-R-E-N has gotten thrown around all over the place.

It's been applied to a bunch of birds in diverse lineages all across the planet,

birds that are only distantly related to each other.

For example, we've got ant wrens, fairy wrens, grass wrens, fern wrens, scrub wrens, field wrens, heath wrens, gnatrens,

New Zealand wrens, ren warblers, ren sphin tails, and ren thrushes.

I'm surprised ornithologists haven't also come up with names like rubbish wrens, laser wrens,

bubble gum wrens, wrens, laser wrens, bubblegum wrens,

wrens, ren eagles, and ren penguins.

We're not dealing with any of that nonsense today.

Today, we are interested in the ren wrens.

Sure, most of these species qualify as, quote, unquote, little brown birds, but they've got a lot of personality, and there's much to say about their biology.

So let's get to know them, shall we?

I know. I'll start with the key traits of Wrens, their size and shape, their colors, their general demeanors, and their voices.

Rens generally have stocky egg-shaped bodies.

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