Family: Timaliidae, Wrentits view all from this family
Description 6-6 1/2" (15-17 cm). Uniformly brown, with faintly streaked breast and conspicuous pale eyes. Its name is apt, for its head, beak, and eyes resemble those of a tit, whereas the long cocked tail and secretive habits are reminiscent of a wren.
Habitat Chaparral, shrubs, and brush.
Nesting 3-5 greenish-blue eggs in a neat cup nest of bark fiber, held together by cobwebs and hidden in a low bush.
Range Resident from Columbia River on northern border of Oregon southward along coastal chaparral into Baja California and in Sierra Nevada foothills of California.
Voice An accelerating series of musical notes running together into a trill and dropping slightly in pitch toward the end: peep peep peep-pee-pee-peepeepepeprrrr. Call is a prolonged dry "growling" note. This species is far more often heard than seen.
Discussion The Wrentit spends all of its adult life within the territory chosen in its first year. Individuals hesitate to cross open spaces of even 30 to 40 feet (9 to 12 meters), and it is believed that the wide Columbia River effectively stops the species from entering Washington, even though that side of the river offers a suitable habitat.
