WRENTIT
Chamaea fasciata

Subfamily:  Timaliinae (Babblers) *

Band size:  1 (1C)

Wrentits are strictly birds of the western U.S. found west of the mountains that parallel the coast. It is found in the foothills in scrub habitat and west of the deserts of southern California. It is found from the WA/OR border down into Baja California.  

The bird is fairly uniform in color and possesses a short stout bill. Northern birds have been described as more reddish brown while southern birds are more gray (as in the photograph which was taken in the Santa Monica Mountains). There is a slight streaking to the breast, and the cream-colored eyes stand out in the otherwise uniform color. There is no sexual dimorphism The bird has very short wings (52-63 mm) and a long tail (71-89 mm), which is often cocked up when seen.

The short wings suggest poor flying abilities. When we release Wrentits after banding, most simply fly to the nearest bush, and then flit from branch to branch disappearing into the vegetation. They appear very reticent to venture into open areas. e.g. Part of our site had a controlled burn with one side of the trail burned and the other side not. While walking up this trail, I would see Wrentits fly out of the vegetation, begin crossing the trail, and abruptly turn around, and dive back into the bushes.  

This is also where the story that Wrentits rarely move more than a kilometer or two from their natal site maybe came from. At our banding station, we make every effort to return Wrentits that we encounter near to the net lane that they were captured.

Bird Banding: My experience is that Wrentits are among the most difficult birds to remove from the net. Although they are not biters like grosbeaks and purple finches, they are "grabbers." They seem to have the innate ability to wad up a net making it quite difficult to remove the bird. It is one of the few birds that I have found that the Body Extraction method championed by Dr. C.J. Ralph does not readily work. I find I need to remove some of the netting around at least one foot to get to the body.

Other bird banding notes: Even in hand, the birds can not be reliably aged except by skull and iris or sexed, as both sexes develop brood patches/cloacal protruberances. Symmetrical wing molt is often used as one of the characteristics of After Hatching Year (AHY) birds. It does not work for Wrentits. I suspect the abrasion of flitting through the scrub vegetation takes its toll on the feathers.

* - Some authorities place the Wrentit into the Old World Family Timaliidae, in which most other members are from southeast Asia. Others put it in the family Muscicapiidae, which includes Old World Warblers, Gnatcatchers, Thrushes, as well as the Wrentit. Timaliinae then becomes a subfamily of the Muscicapiidae.

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