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Cistothorus palustris

(Wilson, 1810)

Marsh Wren

G5Secure Found in 34 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.106147
Element CodeABPBG10020
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderPasseriformes
FamilyTroglodytidae
GenusCistothorus
Synonyms
Telmatodytes palustris
Other Common Names
Chivirín Pantanero (ES) marsh wren (EN) Troglodyte des marais (FR)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
Formerly known as Long-billed Marsh-Wren. Placed in monotypic genus Telmatodytes by many authors (AOU 1983). Composed of two groups which may represent separate species: paludicola of western North America (Western Marsh-Wren) and palustris of eastern North America (Eastern Marsh-Wren) (Kroodsma 1989, AOU 1998). As yet not known if differences in song and plumage types are correlated, or if marsh wrens care about the song difference and what this means in terms of gene exchange (DeBenedictis, 1990, Birding 22:98-100).
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-07
Change Date1996-12-03
Range Extent Comments
BREEDS: central British Columbia across southern Canada to New Brunswick, south to southern California, northern Mexico, Texas, Gulf Coast, and Florida; local breeder in interior. WINTERS: coastal areas throughout breeding range and in interior from southern U.S. to southern Mexico.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Freshwater and brackish marshes in cattails, tule, bulrush, and reeds (AOU 1983). Nests in marsh vegetation; female finishes one of several nests started by male; male may continue to build nests even after female begins incubation. Nesting success may be greatest in marshes with relatively dense vegetation and deep water (Leonard and Picman 1987).

Ecology

Adults may destroy eggs and young of conspecifics and of other marsh-nesting passerines (see Leonard and Picman 1987). May be excluded from areas of marsh by yellow-headed blackbird (Leonard and Picman 1986). Territory size small, generally less than 0.2 hectares (Verner 1965, Verner and Engelsen 1970, Kale 1965).

Reproduction

Clutch size is 3-10 (commonly 5-6). Two broods per year, sometimes 3. Incubation, by female, lasts 12-16 days. Young leave nest at 11-16 days but are still fed. Males in most populations are polygynous (Leonard and Picman 1987).
Palustrine Habitats
HERBACEOUS WETLAND
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN5B,N5N
ProvinceRankNative
British ColumbiaS5Yes
OntarioS4B,S3NYes
Nova ScotiaS1BYes
Yukon TerritorySUBYes
ManitobaS5BYes
New BrunswickS2BYes
Northwest TerritoriesSUYes
QuebecS4BYes
SaskatchewanS5BYes
AlbertaS5BYes
United StatesN5B,N5N
ProvinceRankNative
MassachusettsS2Yes
OklahomaS2NYes
IowaS3BYes
PennsylvaniaS2B,S3MYes
KentuckySNAYes
IllinoisS4Yes
DelawareS4BYes
MinnesotaSNRBYes
LouisianaS4Yes
IdahoS5B,S5NYes
TexasS4BYes
MontanaS5BYes
South DakotaS5BYes
OhioS3Yes
FloridaS3Yes
NebraskaS3Yes
NevadaS5Yes
AlabamaS2B,S4NYes
New MexicoS1B,S5NYes
New JerseyS4B,S4NYes
ArizonaS2B,S3NYes
VirginiaS4BYes
West VirginiaSHB,S1NYes
ConnecticutS4BYes
OregonS5Yes
North CarolinaS3B,S4NYes
North DakotaSNRBYes
Rhode IslandS2B,S3NYes
MississippiS3B,S4NYes
VermontS4BYes
CaliforniaSNRYes
MarylandS4B,S2NYes
IndianaS3BYes
WyomingS4BYes
GeorgiaS5Yes
District of ColumbiaS1B,S3NYes
ColoradoS3BYes
TennesseeS3NYes
MissouriS3Yes
ArkansasS4NYes
KansasS1B,S2NYes
New HampshireS3BYes
WashingtonS4N,S5BYes
New YorkS5Yes
MaineS4BYes
MichiganS3Yes
UtahS3B,S3NYes
South CarolinaS4Yes
Navajo NationS3NYes
WisconsinS4BYes
Roadless Areas (34)
Arizona (2)
AreaForestAcres
PinalenoCoronado National Forest130,920
TumacacoriCoronado National Forest44,594
California (4)
AreaForestAcres
CajonSan Bernardino National Forest7,548
Cutca ValleyCleveland National Forest14,530
Log Cabin SaddlebagInyo National Forest15,165
Timbered CraterLassen National Forest4,096
Idaho (3)
AreaForestAcres
Borah PeakSalmon-Challis National Forest130,463
Italian PeakCaribou-Targhee National Forest141,158
PalisadesCaribou-Targhee National Forest122,002
Montana (4)
AreaForestAcres
Bear - Marshall - Scapegoat - SwanLolo National Forest118,485
Bear - Marshall - Scapegoat - SwanLewis and Clark National Forest344,022
BridgerGallatin National Forest45,059
Freezeout MountainBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest97,305
Nevada (2)
AreaForestAcres
Pearl PeakHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest71,405
South SchellHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest125,614
New Mexico (2)
AreaForestAcres
Gila BoxGila National Forest23,759
Meadow CreekGila National Forest34,167
North Carolina (2)
AreaForestAcres
BearwallowPisgah National Forest4,113
Jarrett CreekPisgah National Forest7,485
Oregon (6)
AreaForestAcres
Crane MountainFremont National Forest23,096
HellholeUmatilla National Forest65,679
MarshWinema National Forest1,226
Sky Lakes AWinema National Forest3,940
Sky Lakes BWinema National Forest9,615
TenmileSiuslaw National Forest10,818
Utah (3)
AreaForestAcres
Lewis PeakWasatch-Cache National Forest11,616
Mt. Logan NorthWasatch-Cache National Forest18,930
WellsvilleWasatch-Cache National Forest1,717
Virginia (2)
AreaForestAcres
Bear CreekJefferson National Forest18,274
North MountainJefferson National Forest8,377
Washington (1)
AreaForestAcres
Willow SpringsUmatilla National Forest10,414
Wyoming (3)
AreaForestAcres
Gros Ventre MountainsBridger-Teton National Forest106,418
PalisadesTarghee National Forest1,121
Wilderness Study AreaTarghee National Forest51,961
References (24)
  1. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  3. Balda, R. P., and G. C. Bateman. 1971. Flocking and annual cycle of the piñon jay, <i>Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus</i>. Condor 73:287-302.
  4. Bent, A.C. 1948. Life histories of North American nuthatches, wrens, thrashers, and their allies. U.S. National Museum Bulletin 195. Washington, DC.
  5. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  6. Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
  7. Harrison, H. H. 1979. A field guide to western birds' nests. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 279 pp.
  8. Horn, H. S. 1968. The adaptive significance of colonial nesting in the Brewer's Blackbird. Ecology 49:682-694.
  9. Kale, H. W. 1965. Ecology and bioenergetics of the long-billed marsh wren in Georgia salt marshes. Publ. of the Nuttall Ornithol. Club, No. 5. 142pp.
  10. Kroodsma, D. E. 1989. Two North American song populations of the marsh wren reach distributional limits in the central Great Plains. Condor 91:332-340.
  11. Leonard, M. L., and J. Picman. 1986. Why are nesting wrensand yellow-headed blackbirds spatially segregated? Auk 103:135-140.
  12. Leonard, M. L., and J. Picman. 1987. Nesting success and habitat selection by marsh wrens. Auk 104:491-495.
  13. Ligon, J. D. 1971. Late summer-autumnal breeding of the piñon jay in New Mexico. Condor 73:147-153.
  14. Moore, W. S., and R. A. Dolbeer. 1989. The use of banding recovery data to estimate dispersal rates and gene flow in avian species: case studies in the Red-winged Blackbird and Common Grackle. Condor 91:242-253.
  15. Parker III, T. A., D. F. Stotz, and J. W. Fitzpatrick. 1996. Ecological and distributional databases for neotropical birds. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  16. Poole, A. F. and F. B. Gill. 1992. The birds of North America. The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. and The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA.
  17. Sibley, D. A. 2000a. The Sibley guide to birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  18. Tarvin, K. A., and G. E. Woolfenden. 1999. Blue Jay (<i>Cyanocitta cristata</i>). No. 469 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors. The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 32pp.
  19. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  20. Thompson, F. R., III. 1994. Temporal and spatial patterns of breeding brown-headed cowbirds in the midwestern United States. Auk 111:979-990.
  21. Verner, J. 1965. Breeding biology of the long-billed marsh wren. Condor 67:6-30.
  22. Verner, J., and G. H. Engelsen. 1970. Territories, multiple nest building, and polygyny in the long-billed marsh wren. Auk 87:557-567.
  23. Williams, L. 1952b. Breeding behavior of the Brewer blackbird. Condor 54:3-47.
  24. Willson, M. F. 1966. Breeding ecology of the Yellow-headed Blackbird. Ecological Monographs 36:51-77.